Abstract:  A high-performance liquid chromatographic(HPLC)procedure for determining 5 biogenic amines was introduced. The method was based on a reversed-phase column(HP Hypersil ODS column,125mm×4.6 mm×5μm)for precolumn derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde and fluorometric detection(excitation wave length at 340nm and emission wave length at 450 nm).Biogenic amines are separated by gradient solution,with the flow rate 1.0 ml/min.It allowes simultaneous determination of 5 amines in less than 15 min for histamine and tyramine,putrescine,cadaverine and tryptamine.Linearity for each amine is observed between 0.01 to 25 mg/L.Detection limits range from 0.005 to 0.01 mg/L.The average recovery of cheese for biogenic amines was 92.6%～107.4%.The method is simple,fast and reliable.It can meet the determination needed for biogenic amines in cheeses.

Key words: biogenic amines, cheese, high performance liquid chromatography, precolumn derivatization