Histamine formation by Tetragenococcus muriaticus, a halophilic lactic acid bacterium isolated from fish sauce

We examined histamine formation in cultures of Tetragenococcus muriaticus, a halophilic lactic acid bacterium isolated from fish sauce. T. muriaticus formed histamine in low acidity (pH 5.8), O-2 limiting conditions with optimal NaCl and glucose concentrations of 5-7% (w/v) and above 1%, respectively. Histamine formation could not be prevented even at 20% (w/v) NaCl, indicating that NaCl could not prevent histamine formation by this bacterium. A conspicuous amount of histamine accumulated only during the late stationary phase regardless of the growth conditions. Studies of cell suspension experiments confirmed the results obtained from cultured cells. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.