A glass of red wine, a fermented mature cheese or a few slices of ham is not a problem for most people, but histamine intolerance may cause arrhythmia (tachycardia), migraine, anxiety, eyelid swelling, stomach Intestinal discomfort (stomach pain) or rash and other similar allergies. Excessive levels of histamine can also cause food poisoning. Almost all foods contain histamine, and the content varies greatly depending on the variety or storage time. Wine, cheese, fish, kimchi, etc. are more abundant in foods that have been matured or fermented for a long time. If you know in advance whether the food contains histamine and its content, it is undoubtedly the gospel of consumers. More than two million people in Germany suffer from histamine intolerance. To this end, researchers at the Institute of Natural Sciences and Medicine at the University of Tübingen in Germany have recently developed a method for the rapid detection of histamine in food.
Histamine acts as a messenger involved in the regulation of different physiological processes in the human body, such as sleep-wake circadian rhythm, allergic reactions or inflammation. It is not only produced by the body itself, but also by food, usually decomposed by enzymes in the intestines. In the case of intolerance, this degradation is disturbed and accumulates in the body. Symptoms of intolerance usually occur 2 hours after eating, mostly for half a day. Only a strict diet can ensure safety, but the quality of life is greatly affected, or even malnutrition.
Current histamine testing can only be performed in the laboratory, and the newly developed rapid inspection method is simple and fast, and can be used at the food sales site. If the consumer can know the safety of the fish and its products on the spot, it can also be used in the wine production process to eliminate the inferior wine with high histamine content. The detector is only the size of a ballpoint pen. With the tip of the stamping device, only a small amount of sample is taken. After the histamine is extracted from the special solution, the extract is added to the prepared test strip, and the result can be displayed within 5 minutes: Contains, small or many. The principle is similar to pregnancy testing.
It should be noted that the test results are for reference only and cannot be used for dietary advice. Because the degree of tolerance to histamine varies from person to person, it is estimated based on personal experience.
The development of this method was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which lasted seven years and cost about 650,000 euros. At present, R&D personnel are preparing to build a biotechnology company specializing in the development of histamine content in foods. The products are expected to be put into the market in 2018.