Is pineapple juice high in histamine?
Pineapple juice is moderate in histamine: twelve commercial juices averaged 2.44 mg/kg, the most of four fruit juices tested, although fresh pineapple had none. Four of 10 published diets exclude pineapple.
- Histamine
- Present
- Other amines
- Low
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Study of commercial fruit juices (in the 2018 review) 1 | Measured | Histamine averaged 2.44 mg/kg in 12 pineapple juices, up to 4.61; put down to hygiene during processing or storage. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 4 of 10 exclude pineapple. | |
| Review of histamine intolerance, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pineapple juice (study of commercial fruit juices) 1 (Table 2, row "Pineapple juice" (study [41])) | 12 | mean 2.44 mg/kg, range nd–4.61 mg/kg | standard deviation 1.59; tyramine mean 0.87 mg/kg (up to 1.93); putrescine mean 1.79 mg/kg (1.53–1.98); cadaverine mean 1.21 mg/kg (up to 3.14) |
| Fresh pineapple sold in Spain 1 (Table 2, row "Pineapple" (authors' own data,) | 6 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.20 mg/kg (1.39–7.96); 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
Fresh pineapple had no histamine, so the amount in juice was added on the way to the carton: the study's authors put it down to hygiene during processing or storage. Juice pressed from fresh fruit and drunk the same day was not measured but is the closest to the fruit.
Averaged 2.44 mg/kg in 12 juices, up to 4.61. (measured)
Not measured. Fresh pineapple had no histamine. (estimate)
Why we rate pineapple juice 2
Pineapple juice is a rare case where the juice carries clearly more histamine than the fruit it is made from. A University of Barcelona team tested six fresh pineapples bought in Spain and found no histamine. A separate study of commercial fruit juices, which the team included in its 2018 review, tested twelve pineapple juices and found an average of 2.44 mg/kg, with the highest at 4.61 mg/kg. The spread of the figures suggests that most juices had some.
Of the four juices in that study, pineapple had the most. Apple juice had none, grapefruit juice averaged 0.31 mg/kg and orange juice 0.46 mg/kg. The authors' explanation covers all three juices that contained histamine: because the amine is not found in the fresh fruit, they concluded that it comes from a lack of hygiene during processing or storage. The study does not tell us which step, or whether some brands were consistently cleaner than others.
The amounts are still small. An average of 2.44 mg/kg is close to the 2.51 mg/kg found in fresh tomatoes, and far below cured cheese. Other amines in the juice were low, with putrescine at 1.79 mg/kg, much less than the 45.51 mg/kg in orange juice.
Pineapple also carries a separate reputation. A 2020 review from the same group lists it among fruits reported to release the body's own histamine, adding that the mechanism has not been worked out, and four of the ten published diets in the 2021 review exclude pineapple. We do not move the rating for that claim, because there is no human evidence for it.
We rate pineapple juice 2, "moderate", because histamine was found regularly, unlike in the fresh fruit, which we rate 0. If you want a fruit juice, apple juice had none in the same study. Juice pressed at home from a fresh pineapple and drunk straight away was not measured, but it is much closer to the fruit than a carton is.
Questions about pineapple juice and histamine
Is pineapple juice high in histamine?
It is moderate. Twelve commercial juices averaged 2.44 mg/kg, up to 4.61 mg/kg, while fresh pineapple had none. The study's authors put the difference down to hygiene during processing or storage.
Is pineapple juice a histamine liberator?
Pineapple is often called one. A 2020 review says it has been reported to release the body's own histamine but that no mechanism has been shown, and we found no human study measuring it.
Evidence behind this page
- In a study of twelve commercial pineapple juices, histamine averaged 2.44 mg/kg (standard deviation 1.59, up to 4.61 mg/kg); putrescine averaged 1.79 mg/kg, tyramine 0.87 mg/kg and cadaverine 1.21 mg/kg. 1
- In the same study, apple juice had no detectable histamine (10 samples), grapefruit juice averaged 0.31 mg/kg (10) and orange juice 0.46 mg/kg (11). 1
- The study's authors concluded that histamine in grapefruit, orange and pineapple juice came from a lack of hygienic quality during processing or storage, since it is not found in the fresh fruit. 1
- Six fresh pineapples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine and averaged 4.20 mg/kg of putrescine. 1
- Pineapple is among the fruits reported to trigger the release of the body's own histamine, although the mechanism has not been elucidated. 3
- Four of ten published low-histamine diets exclude pineapple. 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)