Is mint high in histamine?
Mint has not been tested for histamine; we estimate fresh mint mostly low and mint tea low, since a 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among low-histamine foods.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical review, 2024 1 | Lists herbal teas among examples of foods low in histamine, when used in normal quantities. | |
| Leafy vegetables measured in Spain 2 | No histamine in lettuce, traces in chard, an average of 31.77 mg/kg in spinach. Mint was not tested. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 3 | Mint is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Mint was not measured fresh, dried or brewed. Cut mint keeps a few days in the fridge; a growing pot lets you pick leaves as you need them. Dried mint and tea bags keep well when sealed.
Not measured; measured leafy greens range from none to high. (estimate)
Not measured; a 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among low-histamine foods. (estimate)
Not measured. (estimate)
Why we rate mint 1
Mint has not been measured for histamine in the studies we use, in fresh, dried or tea form. This page sets out what the sources do say and how we reach our estimate.
Fresh mint is a leafy herb, and the leafy vegetables that were measured cover the whole range. A University of Barcelona team found no histamine in lettuce, traces in chard, 0.79 mg/kg on average, and a lot in spinach: every one of 18 samples contained it, at an average of 31.77 mg/kg. The team's 2018 review explains that some histamine is natural to certain plants and that bacteria can add more during storage. Mint was not part of any of this, so we rate fresh mint 1, "mostly low", as an estimate: one step above zero because no one has checked.
Mint tea is the form most people ask about. A 2024 clinical review by Jochum lists herbal teas among examples of foods low in histamine when used in normal quantities. That is a statement in a review, not a laboratory result for mint, and it does not name mint. A cup of mint tea is a few leaves, or a bag of dried ones, steeped in hot water and strained. We rate peppermint and fresh mint tea 0, "low", as an estimate. The nine teas the Barcelona team did measure had no detectable histamine, but the paper does not say which kinds they were, so we do not count them as evidence for mint.
Peppermint and spearmint were not compared, and dried mint was not measured. Mint sauce is usually made with vinegar and sugar, a different product from the herb. Peppermint oil capsules are a supplement, and this site does not rate supplements.
Mint does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review. In cooking, mint goes into salads, yogurt sauces, fruit and green chutneys. Yogurt, cucumber and lettuce, all common partners, had no detectable histamine in the team's tests.
Questions about mint and histamine
Is peppermint tea low histamine?
Peppermint tea was not measured. A 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among foods low in histamine, and we estimate peppermint and fresh mint tea at 0, "low".
Is spearmint different from peppermint?
They were not compared in any study we use. We rate both the same, as estimates.
Evidence behind this page
- A 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among examples of foods low in histamine when used in normal quantities. 1
- Mint does not appear in the measurement tables of the 2018 or 2021 reviews. 23
- Among leafy vegetables tested in Spain, lettuce had no detectable histamine (4 samples), chard averaged 0.79 mg/kg (8 samples) and spinach 31.77 mg/kg (18 samples). 2
- Nine teas sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; the paper does not say which kinds of tea were included. 3
Sources
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- 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)
- 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)