Is orange juice high in histamine?
Orange juice is mostly low in histamine: three juices tested in Spain had none and eleven in another study had traces, up to 1.32 mg/kg. It is high in putrescine, and 6 of 10 published diets exclude citrus.
- Histamine
- Varies by sample
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
Why sources disagree. Orange juice had no histamine or only traces in the studies we use, yet six of ten published diets exclude citrus. The juice is rich in putrescine, a related amine, which is the likelier reason.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 3 orange juices; putrescine averaged 45.51 mg/kg. |
| Study of commercial fruit juices (in the 2018 review) 1 | Measured | Traces of histamine in 11 orange juices, averaging 0.46 mg/kg; put down to hygiene during processing or storage. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 6 of 10 exclude citrus fruits. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2021 2 | Citrus is on lists of suggested histamine liberators, a claim with no supporting human studies. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange juice sold in Spain 1 (Table 2, row "Orange juice" (authors' own data,) | 3 | not detected | putrescine mean 45.51 mg/kg (37.35–57.3); tyramine and cadaverine not detected |
| Orange juice (another study) 1 (Table 2, row "Orange juice" (study [41])) | 11 | mean 0.46 mg/kg, range nd–1.32 mg/kg | putrescine mean 45.51 mg/kg (34.70–60.97); tyramine and cadaverine 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
The study that found traces of histamine in orange juice linked it to hygiene during processing or storage, not to the fruit. Squeezed juice drunk straight away is the closest to the fresh oranges, which had none; an opened carton kept for days in the fridge was not measured.
Not measured as such. Fresh oranges had no histamine but 91.24 mg/kg of putrescine. (estimate)
None in 3 juices, traces in 11 (up to 1.32 mg/kg); putrescine about 45 mg/kg. (measured)
Why we rate orange juice 1
Orange juice has almost no histamine in the studies we use. The University of Barcelona team that produced most of our data tested three orange juices from Spanish shops and found none. A separate study of eleven commercial orange juices, which the team included in its 2018 review, found traces in some: an average of 0.46 mg/kg, with the highest at 1.32 mg/kg. For comparison, fresh tomatoes averaged 2.51 mg/kg in the team's survey, and pineapple juice in that same juice study averaged 2.44 mg/kg.
The authors of the juice study had an explanation for the traces. Fresh fruit does not contain histamine, so they concluded that it came from a lack of hygiene during processing or storage. The twelve fresh oranges the Barcelona team tested had none, which fits.
What orange juice does carry is putrescine, an amine related to histamine. Both the Barcelona juices and the eleven in the other study averaged 45.51 mg/kg, and a third study of three juices reported 85 mg/kg. That is about half the level of whole oranges, which averaged 91.24 mg/kg. Some researchers think putrescine slows the breakdown of histamine in the gut, but the 2021 review calls the experimental evidence scarce: it comes from laboratory and animal studies, the most recent done in rats in 1985.
Six of the ten published low-histamine diets exclude citrus fruits, and citrus is also on lists of so-called histamine liberators, foods said to release the body's own histamine. The review states that no human studies support that idea.
We rate orange juice 1, "mostly low", and mark it disputed. Histamine is absent or at trace levels, and the putrescine moves it up one step from 0, not further. If your dietitian has asked you to leave out citrus during an elimination phase, that applies to juice too. Otherwise, a freshly poured glass is a reasonable choice; an opened carton left for days was not tested.
Questions about orange juice and histamine
Is orange juice high in histamine?
No. Three juices tested in Spain had none, and eleven in another study averaged 0.46 mg/kg, up to 1.32 mg/kg. Orange juice is high in putrescine, a related amine, at about 45 mg/kg.
Why do low-histamine diets exclude orange juice?
Not because of measured histamine. Citrus is rich in putrescine and is often called a histamine liberator; the evidence for both ideas is weak, but six of ten published diets exclude citrus.
Evidence behind this page
- Three orange juices from the Spanish market had no detectable histamine, tyramine or cadaverine, and averaged 45.51 mg/kg of putrescine. 1
- In another study of 11 orange juices, histamine averaged 0.46 mg/kg (up to 1.32 mg/kg) and putrescine 45.51 mg/kg; a third study of 3 juices reported putrescine averaging 85 mg/kg. 1
- The study that reported histamine in grapefruit, orange and pineapple juices concluded that it came from a lack of hygienic quality during processing or storage, since the amine is not found in the fresh fruit. 1
- Twelve fresh oranges had no detectable histamine and averaged 91.24 mg/kg of putrescine. 1
- Six of ten published low-histamine diets exclude citrus fruits, and citrus appears on lists of suggested histamine-releasing foods although no human studies support that idea. 2
- Experimental evidence that putrescine and cadaverine interfere with histamine breakdown by DAO is scarce and comes from in vitro and animal studies published in 1954, 1957 and 1985. 2
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)
- 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)