Is quinoa high in histamine?
Quinoa is probably low in histamine, but it has not been measured: none of the studies we use tested it. It is a dry, unfermented seed, and every cereal those studies did test had no histamine.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cereals measured in Spain 1 | Measured | Quinoa was not tested. The cereals that were had no detectable histamine; 28 samples averaged 0.12 mg/kg. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | Quinoa is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Dry quinoa keeps well and is not fermented. Cooked quinoa kept for several days, ready-cooked pouches and sprouted quinoa were not measured; we rate them a step higher because they are stored moist or are sprouting seeds.
Not measured. A dry, unfermented seed. (estimate)
Not measured. Cooked and stored before you eat it. (estimate)
Not measured. Sprouting seeds can be rich in putrescine, as soybean sprouts are. (estimate)
Why we rate quinoa 0
Quinoa comes up often in low-histamine meal plans as an alternative to rice, yet none of the studies we use measured it. The University of Barcelona team's database of foods sold in Spain covers eight cereal products: barley, white and wholemeal bread, a corn and chocolate breakfast cereal, oats, wheat pasta, rice and wheat germ. Quinoa is not among them. It is also missing from the other studies collected in the team's 2018 review and from their 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets.
What we can offer comes from related foods. Every cereal in the Spanish tables had no detectable histamine, and 28 cereal samples pooled in a 2020 review averaged 0.12 mg/kg, with none above 0.89 mg/kg. The 2018 review explains that cereals in principle contain no amines other than putrescine, and that this putrescine comes from the plant itself. Quinoa is not a true cereal, though. It is the seed of a broadleaf plant rather than a grass, so the cereal figures are a guide, not a measurement.
How quinoa is made and stored points the same way. It is harvested, washed or polished to remove its bitter coating, dried and sold dry. None of that involves fermentation, and histamine in food forms mainly when bacteria break down the amino acid histidine, which is why fermented foods and spoiled fish and meat are the usual sources.
The open question is other amines. Seeds that are sprouting or growing fast can be rich in putrescine: the 2018 review links the high levels in wheat germ and soybean sprouts to germination and rapid cell division. Sprouted quinoa would fall into that group, and it was not measured either, so we rate it 1 as an estimate.
We rate quinoa 0, "low", as an estimate, and this page says plainly that it was not measured. Quinoa cooked and eaten fresh is the form that fits this reasoning best. Rinsing it, as most packets suggest, is about taste rather than histamine. Cooked quinoa kept in the fridge for several days and ready-cooked pouches were not measured; we rate them 1 because they are stored moist after cooking. Quinoa salads take on the histamine of what is mixed in, such as aged cheese or cured meat.
Questions about quinoa and histamine
Is quinoa high in histamine?
It has not been measured in the studies we use. It is a dry, unfermented seed, and every cereal they tested had no detectable histamine, so we rate quinoa low as an estimate.
Is quinoa better than rice for histamine?
There is no data to say so. Rice was measured and had no detectable histamine; quinoa was not measured. Both are dry, unfermented staples, and we rate both low.
Evidence behind this page
- Quinoa was not among the eight cereal products in the Spanish database (barley, white and wholemeal bread, corn and chocolate breakfast cereal, oats, wheat pasta, rice and wheat germ) or the other studies collected in the 2018 review (Table 3). 4
- Every cereal product in the Spanish database had no detectable histamine, and cereals contain no amines other than putrescine, which has a physiological origin (Section 3.3). 4
- Across 28 cereal samples, histamine averaged 0.12 mg/kg, with a maximum of 0.89 mg/kg (Table 1). 1
- Histamine in foods is formed mainly by bacteria decarboxylating histidine, so fermented and spoiled foods are the ones likely to accumulate it (Section 1). 2
- The high putrescine in wheat germ and soybean sprouts has been linked to germination and rapid cell division (Sections 3.1 and 3.3). 4
Sources
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)