Which purine base makes up most of this number?

Hypoxanthine — 195.6 mg of the 251.9 mg per 100 g total. The rest is guanine 21, adenine 20, xanthine 15.3.

Is this value for raw or cooked food?

Cooked — the source entry is Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, cooked. Values per 100 g are not directly interchangeable between raw and cooked entries.

Why is hypoxanthine the largest fraction here?

Hypoxanthine accounts for 195.6 of the 251.9 mg total — about 78% of the number.

Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, cooked

High purine

Beef (other than organs)

Purine content

252 mgper 100 g

The level label is a plain categorization of the number above — not a statement about whether this food fits your diet. See the full disclaimer.

Composition — per 100 g

Purine, total	252 mg
— Adenine	20 mg
— Guanine	21 mg
— Hypoxanthine	196 mg
— Xanthine	15.3 mg
Fructose	No data available
Calories	193 kcal

Missing figures are shown as “No data available”; values are copied from the sources below and are never estimated. Laboratory values differ between studies and samples.

Where these numbers come from

Purine total and fractions: USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025) — USDA analytical data (FDC Foundation Foods program).
Fructose and calories: USDA FoodData Central record #174752.

If you want something similar

Within beef (other than organs), the same table also lists Beef roast, cooked (unspecified) at 124.8 mg and Beef, sirloin, raw at 124.8 mg per 100 g.

From the author

Personal experience of someone living with gout

I ate it once during a flare and felt rough afterwards. Between flares I eat it as usual.

Personal experience — not medical advice. Read the full disclaimer.

Questions

Which purine base makes up most of this number?: Hypoxanthine — 195.6 mg of the 251.9 mg per 100 g total. The rest is guanine 21, adenine 20, xanthine 15.3.
Is this value for raw or cooked food?: Cooked — the source entry is Beef, ground, 93% lean meat / 7% fat, cooked. Values per 100 g are not directly interchangeable between raw and cooked entries.
Why is hypoxanthine the largest fraction here?: Hypoxanthine accounts for 195.6 of the 251.9 mg total — about 78% of the number.

Looking for a different food? Search the full database — every entry there links back to its source, whether or not it has a page like this one. Or browse high purine foods.