Is 171.8 mg high for a vegetable?

It lands in the moderate band on this site's own scale (100–200 mg/100 g). The scale is a plain categorisation of the number, not a dietary rule.

Why are hypoxanthine and xanthine zero here?

The source reports a measured zero for both bases in this entry, not a missing value. Only adenine and guanine were detected.

Does cooking change the figure?

This entry is raw young spinach. The database lists other spinach entries separately, and values per 100 g move with water content after cooking.

Where does the number come from?

The USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025); the citation for this entry is Kaneko et al. (2014), listed in the source section.

Spinach, young, raw

Moderate purine

Vegetables

Purine content

172 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	172 mg
— Adenine	83.5 mg
— Guanine	88.3 mg
— Hypoxanthine	0 mg
— Xanthine	0 mg
Fructose	No data available
Calories	20.7 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: Kaneko, K., et al. (2014). Total purine and purine base content of common foodstuffs for facilitating nutritional therapy for gout and hyperuricemia. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 37(5), 709-21..
Fructose and calories: USDA FoodData Central record #1750352.

If you want something similar

Spinach's 171.8 mg/100 g is almost entirely adenine and guanine (83.5 + 88.3 mg), with hypoxanthine and xanthine both measured at zero. For a lower read within the same vegetable group, the table lists green beans at 7.5 mg and podded peas at 10.4 mg.

From the author

Personal experience of someone living with gout

I stopped eating spinach raw — oxalate, not purines, is why. Now it gets blanched and the water poured off before it goes into anything, salads included.

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

Questions

Is 171.8 mg high for a vegetable?: It lands in the moderate band on this site's own scale (100–200 mg/100 g). The scale is a plain categorisation of the number, not a dietary rule.
Why are hypoxanthine and xanthine zero here?: The source reports a measured zero for both bases in this entry, not a missing value. Only adenine and guanine were detected.
Does cooking change the figure?: This entry is raw young spinach. The database lists other spinach entries separately, and values per 100 g move with water content after cooking.
Where does the number come from?: The USDA and ODS-NIH Database for the Purine Content of Foods, Release 2.0 (2025); the citation for this entry is Kaneko et al. (2014), listed in the source section.

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 moderate purine foods.