Is mandarin high in histamine?
Mandarin is mostly low in histamine: 21 mandarins tested in Spain had none, but they averaged 90.16 mg/kg of putrescine, a related amine, and 6 of 10 published diets exclude citrus.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
Why sources disagree. Mandarins had no detectable histamine in 21 lab samples, but they are among the richest fruits in putrescine, a related amine, and six of ten published diets exclude citrus fruit.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 21 mandarins; putrescine averaged 90.16 mg/kg. |
| Another study in the 2018 review 1 | Measured | Ten mandarins averaged 122 mg/kg of putrescine, up to 200 mg/kg; histamine was not reported. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 6 of 10 exclude citrus fruits. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 3 | Suggests reactions to citrus may come from putrescine rather than histamine. | |
| Histamine-liberator claim 2 | Citrus fruits are listed among suggested histamine-releasing foods; no human study supports the claim. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandarins sold in Spain 1 (Table 2) | 21 | not detected | putrescine mean 90.16 mg/kg (12.29–173.8); tyramine mean 0.94 mg/kg; cadaverine not detected |
| Citrus fruits sold in Spain (group) 2 (Table 1) | 38 | not detected | putrescine mean 79.75 mg/kg, up to 173.81 mg/kg |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Mandarins keep for a while at home, and no study we found showed histamine forming in them during storage. One study did find that putrescine in mandarin peel rises after a drop in temperature before harvest and after mechanical damage, one of several reasons the review gives for the wide spread between samples. Tinned mandarin segments and mandarin juice were not measured.
No histamine in 21 samples; putrescine averaged 90.16 mg/kg. (measured)
Why we rate mandarin 1
Mandarins stand out in the Spanish lab surveys for two reasons: no histamine in any of the 21 fruits tested, and some of the highest putrescine of any fruit. The University of Barcelona team that ran the survey found an average of 90.16 mg/kg of putrescine in mandarins, level with oranges at 91.24 mg/kg, and one mandarin reached 173.8 mg/kg, the top value for citrus in their data. Another study collected in the team's 2018 review tested ten mandarins and found an average of 122 mg/kg, up to 200 mg/kg, though it did not report histamine.
The papers do not say which kinds of mandarin were tested. Clementines, tangerines and satsumas are all types of mandarin, so this page covers them, but none was measured under its own name.
Putrescine is why mandarins get grouped with oranges as a citrus problem. Some researchers think it competes with histamine for DAO, the gut enzyme that breaks histamine down, and a 2020 review from the same group suggests it may explain why some people react to citrus. The evidence for that competition is thin: the 2021 review found only old laboratory and animal studies, the most recent a 1985 study in rats. Citrus fruits also appear on lists of suggested "histamine liberators", a claim with no human studies behind it. Six of the ten published diets in the 2021 review exclude citrus, and the authors point out that this happens despite the absence of histamine in it.
We rate mandarins 1, "mostly low", and mark the rating disputed. Putrescine at these levels moves a food one step up our scale, and the lists point the same way, but neither can push it further without measured histamine. One mandarin is a small amount of fruit; a bag of clementines over an afternoon is a lot more putrescine. If you react to citrus, it is worth knowing that lemons in the same survey had only 2.33 mg/kg, so the citrus fruits are not all alike.
Questions about mandarin and histamine
Are clementines high in histamine?
Clementines are a type of mandarin. Mandarins tested in Spain had no detectable histamine, but they averaged 90.16 mg/kg of putrescine, a related amine, so we rate them 1. Clementines were not measured under their own name.
Are mandarins better than oranges on a low-histamine diet?
There is little to choose between them. Neither had histamine in lab tests, and their putrescine levels were almost the same: 90.16 mg/kg in mandarins and 91.24 mg/kg in oranges. We rate both 1.
Evidence behind this page
- Twenty-one mandarins sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or cadaverine; putrescine averaged 90.16 mg/kg (12.29–173.8). 1
- Another study of ten mandarins reported putrescine averaging 122 mg/kg (67.3–200). 1
- Citrus fruits sold in Spain had putrescine averaging 79 mg/kg and up to 173 mg/kg in mandarins, and 60% of the reviewed diets exclude citrus despite the absence of histamine. 2
- Putrescine in mandarin peel can rise after a drop in temperature before harvest and after mechanical damage. 1
- The only study on putrescine slowing histamine breakdown that the 2021 review found was done in rats, in 1985. 2
- A 2020 review suggests that symptoms after citrus may be due to other amines, especially putrescine. 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)
- 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)
- 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)