Is pineapple high in histamine?
Fresh pineapple is low in histamine: none was found in lab tests and other amines were low. Four of ten published diets still exclude it, citing an unproven "histamine liberator" effect.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
Why sources disagree. Fresh pineapple had no detectable histamine and little of other amines, but four of ten published diets exclude it, mostly on the unproven claim that it releases the body's own histamine.
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 6 pineapples; putrescine averaged 4.20 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 4 of 10 exclude pineapple. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 3 | Pineapple has been reported to release the body's own histamine; the mechanism has not been shown. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pineapples sold in Spain 1 (Table 2) | 6 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.20 mg/kg (1.39–7.96); tyramine not detected |
| Pineapple juice (another study) 1 (Table 2) | 12 | mean 2.44 mg/kg, range nd–4.61 mg/kg | putrescine mean 1.79 mg/kg; tyramine mean 0.87 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
Fresh pineapple had no histamine, but pineapple juice in a separate study had small amounts in most samples, averaging 2.44 mg/kg. Canned and dried pineapple were not measured. Prefer fresh fruit if you are keeping histamine as low as possible.
No histamine; putrescine 4.20 mg/kg. (measured)
Histamine averaged 2.44 mg/kg, up to 4.61, in 12 juices. (measured)
Why we rate pineapple 0
Pineapple is excluded from low-histamine diets for a reason that has nothing to do with the histamine in it. A University of Barcelona team tested six pineapples sold in Spain and found no histamine. Other amines were low as well: putrescine averaged 4.20 mg/kg, about a twentieth of the level in oranges, and there was no tyramine.
The reason for the exclusions is the "histamine liberator" idea: the claim that some foods make the body release its own stored histamine. A 2020 review from the same research group lists pineapple with papaya, kiwi, strawberries and plums as fruits reported to do this, and adds that the mechanism has not been worked out. We found no human study that measured it. Four of the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review exclude pineapple, which, as the authors note, is more than most foods that have no histamine.
Juice is a different story. In a separate study of twelve pineapple juices, histamine was found in most samples, averaging 2.44 mg/kg and reaching 4.61 mg/kg. That is still a small amount, similar to the average for tomatoes, but it is more than the fresh fruit had. The data do not show why. Processing and storage time are both possible, and the fruit and juice figures come from different products and laboratories.
We rate fresh pineapple 0, "low", and mark it disputed. Our scale follows measured histamine and other amines, and does not move a food up for the liberator claim alone, because there is no human evidence for it. Juice gets its own line at 2. If pineapple gives you symptoms, that is worth noting in a food diary and discussing with your dietitian, whatever the measurements say.
Questions about pineapple and histamine
Is pineapple a histamine liberator?
It is often listed as one. A 2020 review says pineapple has been reported to release the body's own histamine but that the mechanism has not been shown, and we found no human study that measured it.
Is canned pineapple low in histamine?
Canned pineapple was not measured in the studies we use. Fresh fruit had none; juice had small amounts.
Evidence behind this page
- Six pineapples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine and averaged 4.20 mg/kg of putrescine. 1
- In a separate study of 12 pineapple juices, histamine averaged 2.44 mg/kg, up to 4.61 mg/kg. 1
- Pineapple is among the fruits reported to trigger release of the body's own histamine, although the mechanism has not been elucidated. 3
- Four of ten published low-histamine diets exclude pineapple, more than most other foods without histamine. 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)
- 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)