Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Research International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres Review Nanomaterials based optical and electrochemical sensing of histamine: Progress and perspectives Sangeeta Yadav a,b , Sheethal S. Nair b , V.V.R. Sai c , Jitendra Satija a, ⁎ a Centre for Nanobiotechnology, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India b School of Biosciences and Technology, VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu 632014, India c Department of Applied Mechanics, IIT, Madras, Tamil Nadu 600036, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Histamine Nanoparticles Nanosensor Optical sensors Electrochemical sensors Food quality control ABSTRACT Histamine is known to be a principal causative agent associated with marine food poisoning outbreaks world- wide, which is typically formed in the contaminated food by decarboxylation of histidine by bacterial histidine decarboxylase. Upon quantification of histamine in different food products, one can comment on the quality of the food and use it as an indicator of the good manufacturing practices and the state of preservation. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established 50 ppm (50 mg/kg) of histamine as the chemical index for fish spoilage. Consumption of foods containing histamine higher than the permissible limit can cause serious health issues. Several methods have been developed for the determination of histamine in a variety of food products. The conventional methods for histamine detection such as thin layer chromatography, capillary zone electrophoresis, gas chromatography, colorimetry, fluorimetry, ion mobility spectrometry, high-perfor- mance liquid chromatography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), are being used for sensitive and selective detection of histamine. However, there are a number of disadvantages associated with the con- ventional techniques, such as multi-step sample processing and requirement of expensive sophisticated instru- ments, which restrict their applications at laboratory level only. In order to address the limitations associated with the traditional methods, new approaches have been developed by various research groups. Current ad- vances in nanomaterial-based sensing of histamine in different food products have shown significant measure- ment accuracy due to their high sensitivity, specificity, field deployability, cost and ease of operation. In this review, we have discussed the development of nanomaterials-based histamine sensing assays/strategies where the detection is based on optical (fluorescence, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), localized surface plasmon resonance) and electrochemical (impedimetric, voltammetry, potentiometric, etc.). Further, the ad- vantages, disadvantages and future scope of the nanomaterials-based histamine sensor research are highlighted. 1. Introduction Histamine poisoning, also known as scombroid poisoning, is a food- borne disease that results due to the ingestion of contaminated food, like seafood, cheese, sauerkraut, beer, wine, and processed meat. According to the technical report of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) 2017 on the assessment of the incidents of histamine intoxica- tion during the period 2010–2014, 306 food-borne outbreaks were re- ported by 12 EU Member State (“Assessment of the incidents of hista- mine intoxication in some EU countries,”, 2017). Almost 40% of all seafood-related outbreaks reported to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are due to histamine toxicity (Gould et al., 2013). Although, the ingested histamine is metabolized enzymatically (by diamine oxidase (DAO), monoamine oxidase (MAO) and histamine methyltransferase (HMT) enzymes) in the human gut and converted into less physiologically active products, but the detoxification process becomes insufficient when excess histamine is consumed. As per the US Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) guidelines (1998), histamine tolerance limit is estimated to be around < 50 ppm (Lüthy & Schlatter, 1983). The consumption of higher doses of histamine can lead to some allergic reactions, while the long-term intake can lead to several other toxicological implications such as Alzheimer's disease, asthma, and neuropsychiatric disorders (Bodmer, Imark, & Kneubühl, 1999). Hence, the detection of histamine in food samples is of utmost importance for a significant reduction in the number of food poisoning outbreaks worldwide. Currently, a wide range of technologies are commercially available for the detection of histamine which includes thin layer https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.01.045 Received 15 January 2019; Accepted 20 January 2019 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: jsatija11@gmail.com (J. Satija). Food Research International 119 (2019) 99–109 Available online 21 January 2019 0963-9969/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T