Are chestnuts high in histamine?
Chestnuts are low in histamine: none was detected in the 2 chestnut samples tested in Spain, and putrescine was modest, though only a handful of samples have been studied.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 2 samples; putrescine averaged 4.53 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 2 of 10 exclude nuts as a group; the review does not say whether chestnuts are meant. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 4 | Lists nuts among foods a low-histamine diet avoids, without naming kinds. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chestnuts sold in Spain 1 (Table 2) | 2 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.53 mg/kg (2.12–6.93); tyramine and cadaverine not detected |
| Nuts sold in Spain (group) 2 (Table 1) | 47 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.40 mg/kg (ND–39.51); spermidine mean 28.64 mg/kg |
| Nuts (group) 3 (Table 1) | 41 | mean 0.45 mg/kg, range nd–11.86 mg/kg | median not detected |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
No study we use followed amines in chestnuts during storage. Cooked chestnuts kept for days were not measured; the 2018 review advises eating plant foods as fresh as possible, because amines can keep forming in the fridge. Histamine is heat-stable, so roasting would not remove any.
No histamine in 2 samples; the paper does not say how they were prepared. (measured)
Not measured. Check the label: sweetened purée and spreads add other ingredients. (estimate)
Not measured. Amines can keep forming in stored plant foods, even in the fridge. (estimate)
Why we rate chestnuts 0
Chestnuts have been measured, but only thinly. A University of Barcelona team tested two samples of chestnuts sold in Spain and found no histamine, tyramine or cadaverine in either. Putrescine averaged 4.53 mg/kg, with the two samples at 2.12 and 6.93 mg/kg. Another study cited in the team's 2018 review measured two more samples and found 5.2 mg/kg of putrescine and 1.33 mg/kg of cadaverine, but it did not report histamine. So the histamine result rests on two samples, and that is the main caveat on this page.
In the kitchen chestnuts behave more like a starchy vegetable than a nut: they are roasted, boiled, puréed or ground into flour rather than eaten as a snack. The research team still files them under nuts in its tables, and the published lists exclude "nuts" without naming kinds. Two of the ten low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review exclude nuts, and a 2024 clinical review lists nuts among the foods a low-histamine diet avoids at first. We cannot tell whether any of them had chestnuts in mind.
The nut group figures support a low rating. The team's 2021 survey found no histamine in 47 nut samples sold in Spain, and putrescine in the group averaged 4.40 mg/kg, almost the same as in chestnuts. A 2020 review from the same group reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg of histamine across 41 nut samples, at least half with none, without saying which nuts.
We rate chestnuts 0, "low", on the measured figures, with the warning that two Spanish samples are not many. Roasting does not remove histamine, which is heat-stable, but none was found to remove. Chestnut flour, purée and vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts were not measured. Cooked chestnuts kept for several days are a more cautious choice, because the 2018 review notes that amines can keep forming in plant foods stored in the fridge. Water chestnuts, used in stir-fries, are a different plant and are not covered here.
Questions about chestnuts and histamine
Are roasted chestnuts low histamine?
The two chestnut samples tested in Spain had no histamine; the paper does not say whether they were raw or roasted. Histamine is heat-stable, so roasting would not remove it, but there was none to remove. We rate chestnuts 0.
Is chestnut flour low in histamine?
Chestnut flour was not measured. It is made from dried chestnuts, which had no histamine in testing, so we estimate it at 0.
Evidence behind this page
- Two chestnut samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine; putrescine averaged 4.53 mg/kg (2.12–6.93 mg/kg). 1
- Another study cited in the same review found 5.2 mg/kg of putrescine and 1.33 mg/kg of cadaverine in two chestnut samples; it did not report histamine. 1
- Across 47 nut samples sold in Spain, no histamine was detected. 2
- A 2020 review reports an average of 0.45 mg/kg of histamine in 41 nut samples, with a median of not detected and a maximum of 11.86 mg/kg. 3
- Plant foods should be eaten as fresh as possible, since histamine and other amines can keep forming during refrigerated storage. 1
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)
- Comas-Basté O, Sánchez-Pérez S, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla M, Vidal-Carou MDC. Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art. Biomolecules 10(8):1181, 2020. doi:10.3390/biom10081181 (Comas-Basté O et al. 2020)
- 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)