Histamine in Grasses and Clovers

Abstract

THE presence of biogenic amines has been reported in a number of plants^1,2. Although they are found most widely distributed in fungi, their presence in higher plants has been made more evident by work in recent years, and a survey of the physiologically active amines in fruits and vegetables by Udenfriend et al.³ revealed a wide variety of these compounds. Holtz⁴ had shown earlier that extracts of tomato and spinach had a physiological action in animals similar to histamine, and Werle and Raub⁵ extended this work to a survey of many plant genera. In this survey, water extracts of Trifolium pratense and Trifolium repens were shown to have slight histamine-like activity. The presence of histamine, N-dimethyl histamine, N-acetyl histamine and acetylcholine in Spinacea oleracea has since been confirmed by Appel and Werle⁶. Colamine has been shown to be present in grass¹⁴ and the presence of other amines is also suggested.