Is wheat germ high in histamine?
Wheat germ is mostly low in histamine: none was found in lab tests, but it had far more putrescine than any other grain tested, 31.64 mg/kg on average, so we rate it one step above the rest.
- Histamine
- Not detected
- Other amines
- Notable levels
- 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 1 | Measured | No detectable histamine in wheat germ; putrescine averaged 31.64 mg/kg. |
| Another study in the 2018 review 1 | Measured | 62.1 mg/kg of putrescine in two samples of wheat germ; histamine was not reported. |
| Review of low-histamine diets, 2021 3 | Putrescine may slow histamine breakdown, but the evidence comes only from old laboratory and animal studies. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets 3 | Wheat germ is not on the review's chart of foods the diets exclude. | |
| SIGHI food list 4 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
Measured histamine
| Food tested | Samples | Histamine | Other amines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat germ sold in Spain 1 (Table 3) | 2 | not detected | putrescine mean 31.64 mg/kg (31.39–31.9); cadaverine mean 0.63 mg/kg (0.57–0.69); tyramine not detected |
| Cereals (group) 2 (Table 1) | 28 | mean 0.12 mg/kg, range nd–0.89 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 review does not say whether the wheat germ tested was raw or toasted, and no study we use followed its amines during storage. Its putrescine comes from the germ itself rather than from bacteria, so a fresher pack is not expected to have less.
No histamine; putrescine 31.64 mg/kg in two samples. (measured)
Not measured. Baking does not remove amines; how much you get depends on how much the recipe adds. (estimate)
Why we rate wheat germ 1
Wheat germ is the one grain product in the University of Barcelona team's tables that stands out, and not because of histamine. Two samples bought in Spain had no histamine, no tyramine and only a trace of cadaverine, 0.63 mg/kg on average. Their putrescine, though, averaged 31.64 mg/kg, against 2.4 mg/kg for rice and 0.67 mg/kg for oats from the same survey. Another study collected in the team's 2018 review found 62.1 mg/kg of putrescine in two samples of wheat germ, although it did not report histamine.
The review explains where the putrescine comes from. Wheat germ is the part of the kernel that would grow into a new plant, and like soybean sprouts it has a high rate of cell division, a process in which putrescine and related polyamines play a part. So the putrescine is part of the food, not a sign that it has gone off.
Why does putrescine matter at all? It is broken down by DAO, the same gut enzyme that breaks down histamine, and some researchers think large amounts of it compete with histamine. The team's 2021 review is frank that the evidence is thin: it rests on laboratory and animal work published between 1954 and 1985, including a rat study in which putrescine and cadaverine slowed histamine breakdown when present at four to five times higher levels.
We rate wheat germ 1, "mostly low". On histamine alone it would be a 0 like every other grain we cover, but its measured putrescine is above the 10 mg/kg level at which our rule moves a food up one step. That is a single step and no more, because the case against putrescine is unproven.
In practice wheat germ is eaten a spoonful at a time, sprinkled on yogurt, porridge or cereal, or added to bread dough and muffins. If you would rather avoid it, rolled oats do the same job of adding texture, and oats had no histamine and very little putrescine. Wheat germ is not on the 2021 chart of foods excluded by ten published low-histamine diets. It contains gluten, which matters for coeliac disease, not for histamine.
Questions about wheat germ and histamine
Is wheat germ high in histamine?
No histamine was found in it. It is rated 1 rather than 0 because its putrescine, a related amine, averaged 31.64 mg/kg, much more than any other grain tested.
Why is wheat germ rated higher than wheat bread or pasta?
Wheat germ is the fast-growing part of the kernel and is rich in putrescine; white flour products are not. Wheat pasta averaged 1.56 mg/kg of putrescine and white bread had none detected in the same survey.
Evidence behind this page
- Wheat germ sold in Spain had no detectable histamine or tyramine; putrescine averaged 31.64 mg/kg (31.39–31.9) and cadaverine 0.63 mg/kg. 1
- Another study reported 62.1 mg/kg of putrescine in two samples of wheat germ (Table 3, study [40]). 1
- Wheat germ is the only standout source of putrescine among cereals; like soybean sprouts it has a high rate of cell division, in which putrescine and polyamines play a significant role (Section 3.3). 1
- Evidence that putrescine and cadaverine interfere with histamine breakdown comes from in vitro and animal studies from 1954 to 1985, including a rat study with these amines at four to five times higher levels (Section 3). 3
- Across 28 cereal samples, histamine averaged 0.12 mg/kg, with a maximum of 0.89 mg/kg. 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)
- 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)