Histamine formation in germinating seeds

In eleven plant species the germinating seeds have been examined for their histamine forming capacity, HFC. The spinach seedling exhibited a conspicuously high HFC which rose gradually as growth of the seedling proceeded. In the other species investigated, at every stage of germination, the HFC was much lower than in spinach. α-methylhistidine, a specific inhibitor of mammalian histadine decarboxylase, inhibited slightly but significantly the growth of spinach seedlings, whereas α-methylDOPA, a poor inhibitor of specific histidine decarboxylase, did not significantly inhibit the growth of the seedlings.