Histidine Unit Converter

Histidine is an essential amino acid, meaning your body cannot produce it on its own and must obtain it from food. It serves as a building block for proteins throughout the body.

Histidine is also the precursor to histamine, a compound involved in immune responses and gastric acid secretion, and to carnosine, a dipeptide that buffers acid in muscles during exercise.

Measuring histidine in plasma helps evaluate nutritional status, detect inherited metabolic conditions like histidinemia, and assess liver or kidney function. Results are typically interpreted alongside a broader amino acid profile rather than in isolation.

Histidine is obtained entirely from the diet. Rich sources include meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, legumes, and whole grains. It is metabolized primarily in the liver, where the enzyme histidase breaks it down into urocanic acid.