Is turmeric high in histamine?
Turmeric is low in histamine on the evidence available: none was detected in a group of 12 spices tested in Spain, although turmeric is not named among them.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lab measurements, Spain (food group) 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in 12 spice samples; the spices are not named. |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 2 | Turmeric 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. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spices sold in Spain (group) 1 (Table 1, row "Spices") | 12 | not detected | individual spices not named; other amines not reported |
mg/kg = milligrams of histamine per kilogram of food. "Not detected" means below the laboratory's detection limit.
How freshness and processing change it
Ground turmeric is dry and keeps well sealed and away from light. Fresh turmeric root keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Curry pastes contain other, sometimes fermented, ingredients and were not measured.
A group of 12 spices had no histamine; turmeric is not named in it. (estimate)
Not measured; a fresh, unfermented root. (estimate)
A blend of dried spices; not measured as such. (estimate)
Why we rate turmeric 0
Turmeric has not been tested for histamine on its own in the studies we use. The closest figure is a group measurement. A 2020 review by a University of Barcelona team, reporting histamine by food category for products sold in Spain, found no detectable histamine in any of 12 spice samples. The review does not say which spices those were, so we cannot tell you that turmeric was among them, only that the group as a whole had none.
Ground turmeric is the dried, powdered rhizome of a plant in the ginger family, and it is the form that figure fits best. Fresh turmeric root is sold in some shops; it is a fresh, unfermented root and was not measured. Neither form is fermented, aged or a protein food, and the studies we use trace high histamine in food mainly to bacteria acting on spoiled protein foods and to fermentation.
Turmeric is one of the main ingredients of curry powder, a blend of dried spices that falls under the same group figure. Curry pastes are different. They are wet blends that often include fresh chilli, garlic and oil, and some contain fermented ingredients such as shrimp paste, fish sauce or fermented soybeans. Fermented products can be high: soy-fermented products sold in Spain averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine. Check the label of a ready-made paste. Golden milk, turmeric warmed in milk, depends mostly on the milk, and the five samples of milk the team tested had no detectable histamine.
Turmeric and its main compound, curcumin, are widely sold as supplements and promoted for many uses. This page is about turmeric as a cooking spice. It makes no claim about supplements, about curcumin, or about any effect on histamine in the body, and our sources do not test any of those. If you are considering a supplement, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Turmeric does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review.
We rate turmeric 0, "low", on the strength of the spice group, as an estimate for turmeric itself. Store ground turmeric sealed, dry and away from light, and keep fresh root in the fridge.
Questions about turmeric and histamine
Does turmeric lower histamine?
Our sources do not test this, and this site does not make claims about supplements or treatments. This page rates turmeric only as a food, by how much histamine it is likely to contain.
Is curry powder low histamine?
Curry powder was not measured as such. It is a blend of dried spices, and a group of 12 spice samples had no detectable histamine, so we estimate it at 0. Curry pastes contain other ingredients; check the label.
Evidence behind this page
- A group of 12 spice samples sold in Spain had no detectable histamine; mean, median, minimum and maximum were all not detected. The review does not name the spices. 1
- Milk sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or other amines (5 samples). 2
- Turmeric does not appear among the foods charted as excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. 2
- Soy-fermented products sold in Spain averaged 73.95 mg/kg of histamine (21 samples). 2
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)