Is apple juice high in histamine?
Apple juice is low in histamine: none was found in ten commercial apple juices, and other amines were low. It was the only one of four fruit juices in that study with no histamine at all.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Study of commercial fruit juices (in the 2018 review) 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 10 apple juices; putrescine averaged 1.02 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Apples and apple juice are not on the review's chart of excluded foods. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 3 | Lists fresh juices among examples of foods low in histamine. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple juice (study of commercial fruit juices) 1 (Table 2, row "Apple juice" (study [41])) | 10 | not detected | tyramine mean 0.67 mg/kg (up to 1.6); putrescine mean 1.02 mg/kg (0.59–1.68); cadaverine mean 2.30 mg/kg (0.55–4.27) |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
The ten juices were commercial products, and how they had been stored was not reported. The same study linked the histamine it found in other juices to hygiene during processing or storage, so a freshly opened bottle is closer to what was measured than a carton kept open in the fridge for days, which was not tested.
No histamine in 10 juices; putrescine 1.02 mg/kg. (measured)
Not measured. Histamine was not reported for fresh apples in our sources. (estimate)
Why we rate apple juice 0
Apple juice is one of the few drinks with a clean result in the studies we use. A study of commercial fruit juices, which a University of Barcelona team included in its 2018 review of plant foods, tested ten apple juices and found no histamine in any of them. The other amines were low too: putrescine averaged 1.02 mg/kg, tyramine 0.67 mg/kg and cadaverine 2.30 mg/kg, all well below the 10 mg/kg average at which our scale moves a food up a step.
The same study is useful because it tested four juices side by side. Grapefruit juice averaged 0.31 mg/kg of histamine, orange juice 0.46 mg/kg and pineapple juice 2.44 mg/kg, while apple juice had none. The authors concluded that the histamine in the other three came from a lack of hygiene during processing or storage, since it is not found in the fresh fruit. Apple juice also had far less putrescine than orange juice, which averaged 45.51 mg/kg.
Whole apples point the same way. Three studies collected in the 2018 review measured putrescine in apples, at levels from none to 1.7 mg/kg, although none of them reported histamine, so we have no histamine figure for the fruit itself. Apples and apple juice do not appear on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets, and a 2024 clinical review gives fresh juices as an example of foods low in histamine.
We rate apple juice 0, "low". The rating is for juice from a freshly opened bottle or carton. Ten samples from one study is a modest base, and the review's table does not say whether the juices were cloudy or clear, or made from concentrate. Apple juice is also the raw material for cider, which is fermented and is a different drink; its page is in the alcohol section.
Questions about apple juice and histamine
Is apple juice low in histamine?
Yes. Ten commercial apple juices had no detectable histamine, and putrescine, tyramine and cadaverine were all low. It was the only one of four juices in that study with no histamine.
Is apple juice better than orange juice on a low-histamine diet?
On the measurements, yes: apple juice had no histamine and about 1 mg/kg of putrescine, while orange juice had traces of histamine and about 45 mg/kg of putrescine.
Evidence behind this page
- In a study of ten commercial apple juices, histamine was not detected; tyramine averaged 0.67 mg/kg, putrescine 1.02 mg/kg and cadaverine 2.30 mg/kg. 1
- In the same study, grapefruit juice averaged 0.31 mg/kg of histamine (10 samples), orange juice 0.46 mg/kg (11) and pineapple juice 2.44 mg/kg (12). 1
- The study's authors concluded that histamine in grapefruit, orange and pineapple juice came from a lack of hygienic quality during processing or storage, since it is not found in the fresh fruit. 1
- Studies of fresh apples reported putrescine between not detected and 1.7 mg/kg; histamine was not reported. 1
- A 2024 clinical review gives fresh juices as an example of foods low in histamine. 3
Sources
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Rabell-González J, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Biogenic Amines in Plant-Origin Foods: Are They Frequently Underestimated in Low-Histamine Diets? Foods 7(12):205, 2018. doi:10.3390/foods7120205 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2018)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)