Is cinnamon high in histamine?
Cinnamon is low in histamine on the evidence available: a group of 12 spices sold in Spain had none detectable, though the individual spices in that group are not named.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Not measured
- 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 (food group) 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 12 spice samples; the spices are not named. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | Cinnamon is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spices sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1, row "Spices") | 12 | not detected | individual spices not named; other amines not reported |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Cinnamon is dry bark and keeps well. Ground cinnamon loses flavour faster than sticks, so buy small amounts and keep them sealed and dry. Cinnamon pastries and spiced drinks bring other ingredients and are not rated here.
A group of 12 spices had no histamine; cinnamon is not named in it. (estimate)
Same estimate as ground cinnamon. (estimate)
Why we rate cinnamon 0
Cinnamon has not been tested for histamine on its own in the studies we use, but it belongs to the food group with the cleanest result in our sources. A 2020 review by a University of Barcelona team reported histamine by food category for products sold in Spain. Its "Spices" group, twelve samples, had no detectable histamine in any of them: the mean, median, lowest and highest values were all below the detection limit. The review does not name the twelve spices, so we cannot confirm cinnamon was among them.
Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of trees in the laurel family. Much of the cinnamon sold is cassia, and Ceylon cinnamon is a related species with a milder flavour. Neither has been measured separately, and nothing in the evidence gives a reason to treat them differently for histamine. Both are dry, not fermented and not aged, and the studies we use trace high histamine in food mainly to bacteria acting on spoiled protein foods and to fermentation.
Cinnamon does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review, and it is not among the examples of suggested "histamine liberators" the review lists. The review also notes that there are no human studies showing that any food releases the body's own histamine.
What cinnamon is added to usually matters more than the cinnamon. Porridge with cinnamon is built on oats, which had no detectable histamine in the team's tests, and cereals as a group averaged 0.12 mg/kg. Cinnamon buns and pastries add flour, butter, sugar and sometimes nuts, each with its own answer. Spiced drinks can add wine: mulled wine is a wine, and wine is rated 2 on this site.
We rate cinnamon 0, "low", on the strength of the spice group, as an estimate for cinnamon itself. Ground cinnamon loses its flavour faster than whole sticks, so buy it in small amounts, keep it sealed and dry, and grate sticks when you want the freshest taste.
Questions about cinnamon and histamine
Is cinnamon high in histamine?
Not as far as the evidence goes. Cinnamon was not measured on its own, but a group of 12 spice samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine. We rate it 0, as an estimate.
Is Ceylon cinnamon better than cassia on a low-histamine diet?
They were not measured separately, and nothing in our sources suggests they differ for histamine. Both are covered by the same estimate.
Evidence behind this page
- A group of 12 spice samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; mean, median, minimum and maximum were all not detected. The review does not name the spices. 1
- Cereals as a group averaged 0.12 mg/kg of histamine (28 samples), and oats had no detectable histamine. 14
- Cinnamon does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by ten published low-histamine diets, or among the examples of suggested histamine-releasing foods the review lists. 2
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)