FOOD INTOLERANCE - PSEUDOALLERGIC REACTIO NS INDUCED BY BIOGENIC-AMINES

Biogenic amines may induce mucocutaneous and systemic intolerance reac tions to food. Clinical symptoms are indistinguishable from IgE-mediat ed allergic reactions and include itching, chronic urticaria, angioede ma, exacerbation of atopic eczema, rhinitis, bronchial obstruction, as thma: diarrhea, and defects in intestinal function, vasomotor headache s, and the rare anaphylactoid shock. An overload of the organism with biogenic amines may be the result of the following mechanisms: an incr eased intake of biogenic amines with food, an increased synthesis by t he intestinal flora, a diminished catabolism of biogenic amines by the intestinal mucosa, and an increased release of endogeneous histamine from mast cells and basophils by histamine-releasing food. A deficienc y of intestinal diamine oxidase is suspected to be the major reason fo r histamine-induced pseudoallergic reactions. Considerable improvement has been observed in 50% of patients with histamine intolerance and p atients with atopic eczema who followed a histamine-depleted diet.