Histamine Poisoning (Scombroid Fish Poisoning): An Allergy-Like Intoxication

Abstract

Histamine poisoning results from the consumption of foods, typically certain types of fish and cheeses, that contain unusually high levels of histamine. Spoiled fish of the families, Scombridae and Scomberesocidae (e.g. tuna, mackerel, bonito), are commonly implicated in incidents of histamine poisoning, which leads to the common usage of the term, "scombroid fish poisoning", to describe this illness. However, certain non-scombroid fish, most notably mahi-mahi, bluefish, and sardines, when spoiled are also commonly implicated in histamine poisoning. Also, on rare occasions, cheeses especially Swiss cheese, can be implicated in histamine poisoning. The symptoms of histamine poisoning generally resemble the symptoms encountered with IgE-mediated food allergies. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, an oral burning sensation or peppery taste, hives, itching, red rash, and hypotension. The onset of the symptoms usually occurs within a few minutes after ingestion of the implicated food, and the duration of symptoms ranges from a few hours to 24 h. Antihistamines can be used effectively to treat this intoxication. Histamine is formed in foods by certain bacteria that are able to decarboxylate the amino acid, histidine. However, foods containing unusually high levels of histamine may not appear to be outwardly spoiled. Foods with histamine concentrations exceeding 50 mg per 100 g of food are generally considered to be hazardous. Histamine formation in fish can be prevented by proper handling and refrigerated storage while the control of histamine formation in cheese seems dependent on insuring that histamine-producing bacteria are not present in significant numbers in the raw milk.

An Outbreak of Histamine Poisoning after Ingestion of the Ground Saury Paste in Eight Patients Taking Isoniazid in Tuberculous Ward

“…It is also reported that histamine poisoning occurs more frequently in individuals with allergic inheritance (19,20). Our patients had no prior history of allergic diseases, their eosinophil counts were normal, and the IgE level of only case 4 was slightly high ( Table 1).…”

Brote epidémico por consumo de pez mantequilla: keriorrea e intoxicación histamínica

“…La ingesta de un alimento con altos niveles de histamina produce una reacción pseudoalérgica, cuyos síntomas incluyen entre otros: hormigueo o picor en o alrededor de la boca y garganta, erupción cutánea en la parte superior del cuerpo, hipotensión, cefalea, mareo, prurito, náuseas, vómitos, diarrea, broncoconstricción, taquicardia y dificultad respiratoria. Estos síntomas habitualmente comienzan desde unos pocos minutos a unas pocas horas desde el consumo del alimento y duran entre unas horas y unos pocos días [4][5][6]8,[10][11][12][13][14] .…”

Occurrence of Biogenic Amines in Soybean Food Products

“…Tyramine was the most abundant BA in different types of soy sauces produced in China (Yongmei et al, 2009). Tsai et al (2007) tested biogenic amine levels in seven soybean and eleven black bean douchi (traditional chinese fermented soybean product), among which four soybean douchi products had histamine levels greater than 5 mg/100 g while, among the black bean douchi samples, four samples contained histamine at 56.3, 62.1, 80.2 and 80.8 mg/100 g, levels greater than 50 mg/100 g, a hazard action level (Taylor, 1989). However, histamine is not the only compound responsible for scombrotoxicosis (acute onset of gastrointestinal symptoms such as headache, flushing and hypertension after ingesting spoiled fish), since ingestion of pure histamine does not automatically cause toxic symptoms (Bjeldanes et al, 1978).…”