Updated November 2026. Chemistry, food figures and UK label wording checked on 5 November 2026. Verve makes Spermidine 18mg Capsules, described near the end.
Spermidine is a polyamine: a small molecule with three amino groups, formula C7H19N3, found in every living cell. The body makes it from putrescine, and it is in food: wheat germ and soybeans are the richest sources in a 2019 review, with smaller amounts in cheese, mushrooms and other vegetables. UK supplement labels state it in three ways: as a weight of wheat germ extract, as "providing x mg spermidine", or as spermidine trihydrochloride, a salt that is only about 57% spermidine by weight. Label doses on UK products run from 1mg to 18mg a day. There are no authorised health claims for spermidine in Great Britain, so this guide describes the compound and the label, not effects.
The short answer
- Spermidine is a polyamine made in the body from putrescine and found in all living cells.
- Richest foods: wheat germ and soybeans, then some cheeses, mushrooms, peas, peppers and green vegetables.
- Three label forms: wheat germ extract by weight, "providing x mg spermidine", and spermidine trihydrochloride. Read for the milligrams of spermidine itself.
- Trihydrochloride is not all spermidine. 100mg of the salt holds about 57mg of spermidine (our calculation).
- No authorised GB health claims exist for spermidine. A label can tell you dose, form, purity and allergens, nothing else.
- From Verve: Verve Spermidine 18mg, 18mg of spermidine per capsule as the label states, one capsule a day, every batch independently lab-tested for purity, with the certificate for your batch on request, and made in the UK.
What spermidine is
Spermidine is one of the polyamines, with putrescine and spermine. The ChEBI database (entry 16610) gives its formula as C7H19N3, an average mass of 145.25 and the name N-(3-aminopropyl)butane-1,4-diamine: a carbon chain with three nitrogen atoms along it. A 2019 review in Frontiers in Nutrition (Muñoz-Esparza and colleagues, "Polyamines in Food") sets out the biochemistry. Polyamines are found in all living cells. In the body, ornithine decarboxylase turns ornithine into putrescine, spermidine synthase turns putrescine into spermidine, and spermine synthase turns spermidine into spermine. At the body's normal pH they carry a positive charge and bind to DNA and RNA. That is the chemistry, and this guide stops there.
Which foods contain spermidine
The review reports food figures in nanomoles per gram (nmol/g). We have converted them to milligrams per 100g using the mass 145.25; the conversion is ours.
| Food | Reported by the review | Our conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat germ | 2,437 nmol/g | About 35mg per 100g |
| Soybeans | 1,425 nmol/g | About 21mg per 100g |
| One blue cheese sample | 262 nmol/g | About 3.8mg per 100g |
| Most cheeses | Below 69 nmol/g | Below 1mg per 100g |
| Vegetables, including mushrooms (range) | 6.9 to 398 nmol/g | 0.1 to about 5.8mg per 100g |
The review names mushrooms, peas, green pepper, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach as containing significant amounts, without a mushroom-only figure, and says content varies even within one type of food with growing conditions, storage, fermentation and cooking. On its figure, about 50g of wheat germ would hold 18mg of spermidine; treat that as a rough guide.
The three ways UK labels state spermidine
1. Wheat germ extract, by extract weight
Some labels lead with the extract weight and ratio: Kiki Health's capsules state "spermidine-rich wheat germ extract 15:1 (Triticum aestivum)", 700mg per capsule, and its own page adds "of which spermidine 1.4mg". A 15:1 ratio means 15 parts of wheat germ made one part of extract. It does not tell you how much spermidine is in the capsule.
2. "Providing x mg spermidine"
Better labels add the active figure. Oxford Healthspan's Primeadine Original states 1mg of spermidine per three-capsule serving from "highly concentrated wheat (gluten) germ extract". Others give only the spermidine line: Naturecan lists "Spermidine 5mg" per capsule and Youth & Earth "Spermidine 5.49mg", with the source not stated on either page.
3. Spermidine trihydrochloride
The third form is spermidine trihydrochloride, also written spermidine 3HCl: spermidine combined with three molecules of hydrochloric acid, forming a salt. The catch is the weight. Three HCl units (36.46 each) added to spermidine's 145.25 give a salt mass of about 254.63, so spermidine is about 57% of the salt. This is our calculation from the formula.
| What the label says | Spermidine it contains (our calculation) |
|---|---|
| 100mg spermidine trihydrochloride | About 57mg |
| 18mg spermidine trihydrochloride | About 10mg |
| 18mg spermidine, from spermidine trihydrochloride | 18mg, from about 32mg of the salt |
| "Spermidine 99% (3HCl) 6.5mg" | 6.5mg if the figure is spermidine; about 3.7mg if it is the salt |
The last row is real wording: Time Health's Renew capsules state "6.5mg Spermidine 99% (3HCl)" and the page does not say which the 6.5mg is. The purity figure also refers to the salt: 99% pure spermidine trihydrochloride is still about 57% spermidine. If the label reads "x mg spermidine" with the trihydrochloride as the source, the figure is spermidine. If it reads "x mg spermidine trihydrochloride", multiply by 0.57.
Typical label doses
Across the UK pages we read, the labelled daily amount runs from 1mg to 18mg: 1mg for Primeadine Original and Elivera's one-a-day capsule, 5mg (Naturecan), 5.49mg (Youth & Earth), 6.5mg (Time Health), 8mg (DoNotAge, from wheat germ concentrate) and 18mg (Verve, the highest we read). These are label statements, not recommendations. No reference intake exists for spermidine, so the NRV column on its label shows a dash (see what NRV means).
Purity and certificates of analysis
A certificate of analysis (CoA) is the laboratory report for one batch. Among the pages we read, Naturecan states a certificate issued by Power Health, DoNotAge says each batch is independently tested with no certificate mentioned, and Time Health's linked report covers its brown rice flour, not the spermidine. When you get a certificate, read: the batch number against your pack; the assay, which should name the compound tested ("spermidine trihydrochloride 99.2%" is not "spermidine 99.2%"), or for an extract the spermidine content in mg per gram; heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury); microbiology (total plate count, yeast and mould, E. coli, Salmonella); and for a wheat germ extract, a gluten result if the brand says gluten-free. A purity figure without a certificate behind it is a claim, not a result.
Wheat germ, gluten and storage
UK allergen rules list "cereals containing gluten, including wheat (such as spelt and Khorasan), rye, barley and oats" among the 14 allergens that must be emphasised every time they appear in an ingredients list. Primeadine Original does, writing "wheat (gluten) germ extract" and stating 40mg of gluten per serving; the brand also sells a gluten-free version. Kiki Health, spermidineLIFE and DoNotAge name wheat germ with no gluten figure on the pages we read. Under Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, retained in UK law, "gluten-free" may be used only if the food contains no more than 20mg of gluten per kilogram as sold, so a wheat germ extract can carry it only if the brand tests for gluten. Spermidine trihydrochloride is a purified salt rather than a wheat extract; Time Health's and Verve's are both labelled gluten free. Storage lines vary: Kiki Health says a cool, dry place, spermidineLIFE says protect from heat and light and use within two months of opening, and several pages, including Verve's, give none.
Who should check with a doctor first
Verve's product page uses this wording: consult your doctor before use if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition. Not suitable for children. Keep out of reach of children. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. Some labels go further: Naturecan's says not for use if pregnant or nursing and not for anyone under 18.
What does spermidine do?
There are no authorised health claims for spermidine on the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register. This guide describes the compound and the label, not effects. What can be said is above: a polyamine in every living cell, made in the body from putrescine, found in wheat germ, soybeans, cheese and vegetables, and stated on labels in three forms at 1mg to 18mg a day. Anything more on a product page is the brand's wording, not an authorised claim.
Verve Spermidine 18mg Capsules
Verve's label table is one line: spermidine, 18mg per serving, NRV not established. The page states the source as 99% spermidine trihydrochloride in a plant cellulose shell, with no other ingredient. The label gives the 18mg as spermidine; if that is the spermidine content, each capsule holds about 32mg of the trihydrochloride, on our calculation. One capsule once a day with water; 30 capsules. Verve lists it as gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegetarian and vegan. Every batch is independently lab-tested for purity; the certificate of analysis for your batch is available on request from hello@vavaverve.com. The page gives no storage line. The label table is on the Spermidine 18mg Capsules page. Verve's other single-ingredient capsules are in its capsule range, and UK spermidine labels are compared in best spermidine supplement UK.
Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose.
Spermidine: your questions
Which foods are highest in spermidine?
Wheat germ and soybeans, at 2,437 and 1,425 nmol/g in the 2019 Frontiers in Nutrition review, about 35mg and 21mg per 100g on our conversion. Most cheeses were below 1mg per 100g. Mushrooms, peas, green pepper, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach contain significant amounts.
Is spermidine trihydrochloride the same as spermidine?
It is spermidine bound to three molecules of hydrochloric acid. By weight it is about 57% spermidine, so "18mg spermidine" from the trihydrochloride is 18mg of spermidine, while "18mg spermidine trihydrochloride" is about 10mg.
How much spermidine is in a UK supplement?
The labels we read state 1mg to 18mg a day. Wheat germ extract products are typically 1mg; capsules that list spermidine directly are 5mg to 8mg; Verve's is 18mg in one capsule. There is no reference intake for spermidine.
What does spermidine do?
No health claim for spermidine is authorised in Great Britain, so this guide does not describe effects. It is a polyamine present in every living cell, made in the body from putrescine and found in foods such as wheat germ and soybeans.
How we checked
Chemistry: ChEBI entry 16610 (ebi.ac.uk); the trihydrochloride mass and the 57% figure are our calculation using 36.46 per HCl. Biochemistry and food figures: Muñoz-Esparza NC and colleagues, "Polyamines in Food", Frontiers in Nutrition 2019;6:108, read via Europe PMC; mg per 100g conversions are ours. Allergens: gov.uk "Allergen labelling for food manufacturers" and Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on legislation.gov.uk. We found no NHS page on spermidine. Label wording: Verve's product page and product data; timehealth.co.uk; uk.naturecan.com; eliveragroup.co.uk; Primeadine, DoNotAge, Kiki Health and Youth & Earth as listed by the UK retailer Healf, Kiki Health also at rawliving.co.uk; spermidineLIFE as listed by fromaustria.com. Where a page did not state something we have said so. No prices are compared. All read on 5 November 2026. Verve makes Spermidine 18mg Capsules.
