The concentrations of free amino acids indicated the supply of nitrogen source in the medium. The fermentation with (NH4)2SO4 addition in the rice fermentation medium was conducted. As
shown at Table 3, the concentrations of tyramine, cadaverine and histamine were not detected with (NH4)2SO4 addition, and the concentrations of corresponding tyrosine, lysine and histidine were also undetected. Our results indicated that the concentrations of free amino acids was decreased when (NH4)2SO4 were added into the medium, perhaps this is because the nitrogen source in the fermentation medium was adequate, which can reduced the proteinase
activity of yeast. Amino acid are the precursors of biogenic amines, which can synthesize biogenic amines by the decarboxylation reaction. Although it was difficult to establish a direct connection between amines and amino acids, our results showed that elevated levels of tyramine, cadaverine and histamine correlated with a decrease in tyrosine, lysine and histidine, confirming that higher concentrations of amino acid precursors could result
in more biogenic amine production, although the detailed mechanism is not clear.