What is the difference between plant-based and animal-based DAO supplements?

Animal-based DAO is typically derived from porcine (pig) kidney, a rich natural source of the enzyme. Plant-based DAO is extracted from sprouted legumes, like peas or lentils, which also produce the enzyme during their growth. Both are designed to provide active diamine oxidase enzyme to the digestive system.

Is plant-based DAO as effective as animal-based DAO?

The primary function of providing active DAO enzyme is the same for both sources. The most important factor for effectiveness is the enzyme's activity level, often measured in Histamine Degrading Units (HDUs), rather than its origin. Both plant and animal-derived DAO supplements are formulated to break down histamine in the gut.

Why would someone choose a plant-based DAO supplement?

People may choose a plant-based DAO supplement for various reasons, including following a vegan or vegetarian diet, having religious dietary restrictions that prohibit pork, or simply preferring to avoid animal-derived products for personal reasons.

What is the Tolerance Aperitif supplement made from?

Aperitif is a plant-based DAO supplement. The diamine oxidase enzyme it contains is extracted from organically grown pea sprouts.

Animal-Derived vs. Plant-Based DAO: Understanding the Difference

Choosing a DAO Enzyme Supplement

Deciding to try a diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme supplement can be a positive step forward. If you have worked with a healthcare professional and have diagnosed or are in the process of diagnosing a DAO deficiency, it's the right thing to try. But before you make a decision on what DAO to choose, it's important to remember that not all supplements are made equal.

One of the questions we often get asked at Tolerance is why we only sell porcine-derived DAO supplements, and don't offer a vegan or vegetarian alternative. My name is Sean, I'm one of the co-founders of Tolerance, and today I want to shine some light on what the difference is between the two types of DAO supplements, and why we made the decision that we made.

The Role of the DAO Enzyme

Let's start with a bit of science. I want to revisit what DAO is and the role it plays in your body. DAO is an enzyme that is created in your gut, and is your digestive system's primary tool for breaking down external histamine from food and drink. We often refer to this as ingested histamine.

DAO acts as a gatekeeper within our guts. When we ingest histamine in our diet, the DAO acts to break down that histamine, before it can enter our bloodstream and mix with our internally created histamine. Histamine reactions, whether they are due to ingested histamine or an overproduction of histamine internally, are all a result of having too much histamine in our bloodstream, and our body trying to clear that out.

DAO production is regulated in our body by a gene called the AOC1 gene. DAO deficiency can arise either when this gene does not perform the role that it intends, or due to a range of internal and external factors. At the end of this article I've included some links to further reading, for those who want to dig deeper into the science behind this.

In short, DAO is an enzyme that we create in our body, and a DAO enzyme supplement is designed to boost the activity of your naturally occurring DAO, especially if you don't create enough internally.

Porcine-Derived DAO: Our Gold Standard

For a long time, the only available source for DAO supplements was from animals. Specifically, the enzyme is extracted from porcine (pig) kidneys. There is a simple biological reason for this: the kidneys are one of the organs where DAO is naturally produced and found in high concentrations in mammals.

Our own DAO enzyme supplements, Aperitif, are made from porcine-derived DAO. This type of DAO has been used for many years and is the source used in much of the foundational clinical research into DAO supplementation. When we were creating Aperitif we sourced high quality, porcine-derived DAO, and combined it with vitamin C, which is an essential cofactor in natural DAO production.

Unfortunately, the fact that these supplements are derived from pigs means that they are unsuitable for some people. If you're vegan or vegetarians, or follow a halal or kosher diet, then you may decide that these aren't for you. Tolerance's decision not to create and sell a vegan alternative was not a decision made to discriminate, nor was it a financial decision that we made as a business.

We only sell porcine-derived DAO because in our opinion it is the only source of DAO with enough research and clinical evidence to support it as a high quality food supplement.

A Plant-Based Alternative?

More recently, scientific research has led to the development of plant-based alternative to the DAO enzyme. This alternative is derived from legumes, particularly pea and lentil sprouts. Biologists found that these sprouts produce a high concentration of the DAO enzyme as part of their natural growth process.

There are a number of brands on the market who sell variations of this DAO alternative, often at lower prices than our Aperitif or other porcine-derived supplements. We understand the appeal of this for people who need or want a plant-based or non-porcine alternative. As this is a newer product however, there is less human-based research into its efficacy than there is with porcine-derived DAO, which is why we don't currently offer a plant-based alternative.

All that said, if a supplement works for you, fulfils the role you need it to and allows you to continue to follow a meat or pork free diet, then you should continue taking that supplement under the guidance of your healthcare professional.

Will Tolerance Release a Vegan Alternative DAO?

When Andrew and I first created Tolerance, we discussed launching both a porcine-derived and a vegan-alternative DAO. Having a product line that allowed us to sell to anyone, regardless of their dietary choices, felt like it made both good business sense and aligned with the vision we had when we set out to create Tolerance.

As we researched further however, and consulted with healthcare professionals that we trust, we came to the decision that launching a product that we felt lacked sufficient human-based research was potentially more detrimental to our business than having a portion of the market that we couldn't sell to. We pride ourselves on having the highest quality DAO enzyme supplements on the market in the UK, and that position is not something that we take lightly or want to put at risk.

Will we ever release a vegan DAO alternative to complement our existing product? The beauty of science is that it is constantly evolving, new discoveries and developments are being made all the time, and crucially, new research is always taking place. If that science ever develops to the point where there is a product that we trust to be of as high or higher quality than our existing products, then of course we would consider what that looked like for us as a brand.

Making an Informed Choice

I understand that you might have read through this article and thought "well of course he'll say that, he wants me to buy his product." I can see how it sounds like that. What we wanted to do here was directly address questions that we often get sent to us, and that came up regularly in our recent focus groups.

It's all about making an informed choice that's right for you. If your existing, plant-based DAO alternative is working for you and you've discussed it with your healthcare professional, then you should continue following their advice.

Regardless of whether or not you are a customer of ours, you're still welcome here in our Tolerance Community. Each week we publish new content about histamine intolerance, including our popular Tolerance Kitchen articles designed to help you make more informed choices in your cooking and eat a healthier, more vibrant diet. We have a monthly Tolerance Journal which highlights the best of these articles, which you can sign up for in the footer below.

Whatever you decide, we encourage you to do so as part of a holistic approach. A supplement is just one tool in your toolkit. Working with a qualified healthcare professional or a registered dietitian specialising in histamine intolerance is the best way to develop a comprehensive plan that is tailored to you. You can find a list of trusted professionals on our About page.

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