Determination of histamine, 1-methylhistamine and N-methylhistamine by capillary electrophoresis with micelles.

Urinary histamine and Ngamma-methylhistamine (1-MH), a histamine metabolite, are highly correlated with histamine in plasma. Therefore, allergic reactions can be examined by determination of histamine and 1-MH in urine. We separated histamine, 1-MH and Nalpha-methylhistamine (N-MH) by capillary electrophoresis with UV detection at 210nm, using borate buffer (pH 9) containing 100 mM SDS. The absolute detection limits were 200, 100 and 50 pg for histamine, 1-MH and N-MH, respectively. To purify histamine 1-MH and N-MH in urine, a silica cartridge was used. Recovery rates of histamine, 1-MH and N-MH in physiological saline were 90.0, 91.4 and 95.4%, respectively. We measured histamine and 1-MH levels in urine from a normal female volunteer before and after a meal, and a male bronchial asthma patient. The results showed clearly that the concentrations of histamine and its metabolite rose after eating or asthma attack. N-MH was not detected in the urine.