, 2007 and Liang and Lur, 2002). The changes which occurred on the levels of amines during germination of corn are indicated in Table 2. During germination,

there was a 3–6-fold increase on spermidine and spermine, and a 57-fold increase on putrescine levels. Therefore, during germination, there is a significant increase on the levels of the polyamines and putrescine. This result indicates the higher quality of the germinated compared to regular corn with respect to polyamines. No significant change was observed on the levels of agmatine on germinated corn compared to regular corn; however, the levels of cadaverine and phenylethylamine were lower whereas the levels of histamine were higher compared to regular corn. The increased histamine levels could

be associated with its protective effect Trichostatin A against predators during germination (Gloria, 2005). Furthermore, the lower cadaverine and this website phenylethylamine levels could be associated with their roles in elongation and production of indole, respectively. In germinated corn (13th day of germination), Boget, Torné, Willadino, and Santos (1995) found lower concentrations of spermidine, spermine and putrescine compared to our results. It would be interesting to investigate the reasons for such difference, whether it is related to the cultivar used or whether the increase observed on the 5th germination day could be followed by decreased levels as germination goes on. However, Gloria et al. (2005) reported results similar to the ones described in this study for germinated soybean: during germination, there was a significant increase on total amine levels (6.6-fold increase in the first 48–72 h), followed by a decrease at 96 h. The significantly higher levels of spermidine, spermine, and putrescine observed at 48–72 h suggested that this was the period with the greatest cellular replication and growth. According to Felix and Harr (1987), after

germination of 30 different plant varieties, including corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max), there was a sharp increase in the concentrations of polyamines in the cotyledons and endosperm, while cadaverine and putrescine showed variations in total concentrations Resveratrol depending on the type of plant and developing stage. Frías et al. (2007) evaluated alfalfa and fenugreek sprouts obtained by three different germination conditions (temperature and presence of light) and observed an increase in total bioactive amines content. The levels of amines increased significantly during germination of alfalfa, whereas only spermine levels increased in fenugreek. Based on the results obtained and also from literature data, the levels of polyamines increase and then decrease during sprouting.