## 4 Discussion
As a consequence, the most efficient strategies must rely on the prevention side. Apart from the raw material quality and rigorous control of processing/storage conditions, the addition of starter culture or technological additives (like sugars, essential oils and spices) may counteract BA accumulation in fermented foods [28]. In the context of BA formation, the comparison of the two processing methods followed in this study must, necessarily, consider two fundamental assumptions: (1) an antimicrobial effect of LSF and (2) the lower temperatures to which these products are exposed. It is known that wood smoke contributes to the microbiological stability of dry-fermented sausages. Even though [PERSON] et al. [29] identified a beneficial effect as an antimicrobial agent in LSF, namely in the control of foodborne pathogens like _Escherichia coli_, _Staphylococcus aureus_ and _Listeria monocytogenes_, the microbial species affected may diverge, and thus different levels of BA may arise. On the other hand, differentiated drying conditions will inevitably affect the dehydration rate, the reduction in water activity and, concomitantly, the microbiological profile and related aminogenic activity. The detection of higher levels of BA in smoked products was demonstrated for both batches. The higher temperatures to which these products are exposed may have contributed to this, as they potentiate the proteolysis (and AA release) as well as the decarboxylase enzyme activity. The enzymes responsible for ornithine, lysine and tyrosine decarboxylation have optimal activities at a temperature of 37 \({}^{\circ}\)C [30]. For this reason, even in the presence of greater microbial contamination, the decarboxylulative capacity is reduced at lower temperatures, which translates into a lower release of putrescine, cadaverine and tyramine, respectively. In Batch A, the differences between the \"Control\" and \"LSF\" samples appeared during storage, while in Batch B they were readily observed in \"FP\". Thus, when the two technologies are compared, it can be concluded that the exposure of \"LSF\" dry-fermented sausages to lower temperatures was a decisive factor in minimizing the decarboxylase activity. Yet, the impact of drying technology was strongly conditioned by raw material quality. The way the BA profile evolved over time is also explained by the observed proteolytic process, as demonstrated by several statistical correlations that have been identified. Concerning putrescine, its formation can occur through several metabolic pathways that take place simultaneously, having glutamine, arginine and agmatine as its AA precursors. Based on [PERSON] and Dolatowski [31], glutamine, by conversion into ornithine, represents one of the indirect precursors of this amine. The same was seen in our investigation, where glutamine exhibited a strong negative correlation with putrescine (r = -0.85, \(p<0.05\)). Concerning the arginine conversion into putrescine, it may occur through two possible metabolic pathways: (1) the ADI pathway, and (2) via arginine decarboxylation to agmatine followed by deamination to putrescine [32]. In fact, the main arginine catabolic pathway performed by LAB is the ADI, which has already been described for _Enterococcus_, _Lactobacillus_, _Lactococcus_, and _Leuconostoc_[33], which are frequently found in meat products. The results obtained in this investigation did not allow a direct correlation to be established between ornithine and putrescine; however, a significant correlation between this AA and arginine was observed (r = 0.58, \(p<0.05\)). It should also be noted that in \"FP\" samples from Batch A, until the end of storage, there was an almost constant ratio of approximately 2.35 between arginine and ornithine. In Batch B, due to the sharper increase in arginine, this ratio increased progressively, both for \"Control\" and \"LSF\" dry-fermented sausages, to 3.61, 4.70 and 6.39 (\"FP\", \"1M\" and \"3M\" samples, respectively).