Amounts of polyamines in foods in Japan and intake by Japanese

The amounts of polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) in foods available in Japan were analyzed by HPLC. Though the polyamine concentrations varied in individual foods and food groups, significant differences in polyamine concentrations and distribution patterns were observed between food groups. Beans showed high concentrations of spermidine and spermine, vegetables had higher levels of putrescine and spermidine, fruit and seasonings had high levels of putrescine, fish and shellfish, meat and nuts had high levels spermine. Using the average polyamine concentrations and the amount of each food group consumed, the polyamine intake from foods by the Japanese was estimated to be 200 μmol/day/person, and about half of the polyamine intake was putrescine. This value is significantly lower than those reported for European countries.