Are pistachios high in histamine?
Pistachios are mostly low in histamine: none was detected in 7 samples tested in Spain, but they had more putrescine, a related amine, than any other nut measured, at 14.84 mg/kg on average.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- Liberator
- Claimed, unproven
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 7 samples; putrescine averaged 14.84 mg/kg, up to 39.51 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | 2 of 10 exclude nuts as a group. | |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2020 3 | Suggests reactions to nuts may come from other amines, especially putrescine, rather than histamine. | |
| Clinical review, 2024 4 | Lists nuts among foods a low-histamine diet avoids. | |
| SIGHI food list 5 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pistachios sold in Spain 1 (Table 2) | 7 | not detected | putrescine mean 14.84 mg/kg (4.31–39.51); cadaverine mean 1.65 mg/kg (nd–11.58); tyramine not detected |
| Nuts sold in Spain (group) 2 (Table 1) | 47 | not detected | putrescine mean 4.40 mg/kg (ND–39.51); spermidine mean 28.64 mg/kg |
| Nuts (group) 3 (Table 1) | 41 | mean 0.45 mg/kg, range nd–11.86 mg/kg | median 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 2018 review puts differences between samples of the same food down mainly to production, transport and storage, which may explain why pistachio putrescine ranged from 4.31 to 39.51 mg/kg. No study we use followed amines in pistachios over time. Histamine is heat-stable, so roasting would not remove any.
No histamine in 7 samples; putrescine averaged 14.84 mg/kg. (measured)
Not measured. Made from ground pistachios; check the label for added ingredients. (estimate)
Why we rate pistachios 1
Pistachios had no histamine in the measurements we have, but they carry more putrescine than any other nut tested. A University of Barcelona team analysed seven samples of pistachios sold in Spain. None had detectable histamine or tyramine. Putrescine, a related amine, averaged 14.84 mg/kg and ranged from 4.31 to 39.51 mg/kg, and cadaverine reached 11.58 mg/kg in at least one sample. Another study cited in the same 2018 review found 43 mg/kg of putrescine in two pistachio samples. Almonds in the Spanish survey averaged 2.47 mg/kg of putrescine and hazelnuts 1.18 mg/kg, so pistachios stand well apart.
Putrescine matters because diamine oxidase (DAO), the gut enzyme that breaks histamine down, breaks down putrescine too. Some researchers think a food rich in putrescine could compete with histamine for the enzyme and let more histamine from the rest of a meal through. The 2018 review names pistachio among the plant foods with the highest putrescine, and a 2020 review by the same group suggests that amines like this may explain reactions to nuts. The direct evidence is thin: the 2021 review found only old laboratory and animal studies, the latest from 1985, which showed an effect in rats when putrescine was present at four to five times the level of histamine.
The lists do not single out pistachios. Two of the ten published low-histamine diets exclude nuts as a group, and a 2024 clinical review lists nuts among the foods to avoid at first.
We rate pistachios 1, "mostly low". On histamine alone they would be 0, but their average putrescine is above the 10 mg/kg level at which our scale moves a food up one step. That is a cautious step rather than a warning: citrus fruits in the team's 2021 survey averaged 79.75 mg/kg of putrescine, more than five times as much. If pistachios seem to bother you, almonds or hazelnuts, with a fraction of the putrescine, work in most of the same places, from pesto to baking. The paper does not say whether the pistachios were raw, roasted or salted, and pistachio paste was not measured.
Questions about pistachios and histamine
Are pistachios high in histamine?
No histamine was found in seven pistachio samples tested in Spain. They did contain more putrescine than any other nut tested, averaging 14.84 mg/kg, which is why we rate them 1 rather than 0.
Which nuts are lowest in histamine?
None of the nuts tested on their own had histamine. Hazelnuts and almonds also had the least putrescine, at 1.18 and 2.47 mg/kg on average, against 14.84 mg/kg in pistachios.
Evidence behind this page
- Seven pistachio samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or tyramine; putrescine averaged 14.84 mg/kg (4.31–39.51 mg/kg) and cadaverine reached 11.58 mg/kg in at least one sample. 1
- Another study cited in the same review found 43 mg/kg of putrescine in two pistachio samples; it did not report histamine. 1
- Pistachio is among the plant foods with the highest putrescine levels, and putrescine in nuts could explain why patients link them with symptoms. 13
- The evidence that putrescine blocks histamine breakdown comes from in-vitro and animal studies, the most recent from 1985. 2
- Two of ten published low-histamine diets exclude nuts. 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)
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- 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)