Tyramine (/ˈtaɪrəmiːn/ TY-rə-meen) (also spelled tyramin), also known under several other names, is a naturally occurring trace amine derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Tyramine acts as a catecholamine releasing agent. Notably, it is unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, resulting in only non-psychoactive peripheral sympathomimetic effects following ingestion. A hypertensive crisis can result, however, from ingestion of tyramine-rich foods in conjunction with the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).

Tyramine occurs widely in plants and animals, and is metabolized by various enzymes, including monoamine oxidases. In foods, it often is produced by the decarboxylation of tyrosine during fermentation or decay. Foods that are fermented, cured, pickled, aged, or spoiled have high amounts of tyramine. Tyramine levels go up when foods are at room temperature or go past their freshness date.

Specific foods containing considerable amounts of tyramine include:

Scientists more and more consider tyramine in food as an aspect of safety. They propose projects of regulations aimed to enact control of biogenic amines in food by various strategies, including usage of proper fermentation starters, or preventing their decarboxylase activity. Some authors wrote that this has already given positive results, and tyramine content in food is now lower than it has been in the past.

Mistletoe (toxic and not used by humans as a food, but historically used as a medicine).

Tyramine also plays a role in animals including: In behavioral and motor functions in Caenorhabditis elegans; Locusta migratoria swarming behaviour; and various nervous roles in Rhipicephalus, Apis, Locusta, Periplaneta, Drosophila, Phormia, Papilio, Bombyx, Chilo, Heliothis, Mamestra, Agrotis, and Anopheles.

Tyramine is a norepinephrine and dopamine releasing agent (NDRA) and indirectly acting sympathomimetic. Evidence for the presence of tyramine in the human brain has been confirmed by postmortem analysis. Additionally, the possibility that tyramine acts directly as a neuromodulator was revealed by the discovery of a G protein-coupled receptor with high affinity for tyramine, called the trace amine-associated receptor (TAAR1). The TAAR1 receptor is found in the brain, as well as peripheral tissues, including the kidneys. Tyramine is a full agonist of the TAAR1 in rodents and humans.

Tyramine is physiologically metabolized by monoamine oxidases (primarily MAO-A), FMO3, PNMT, DBH, and CYP2D6. Human monoamine oxidase enzymes metabolize tyramine into 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde. If monoamine metabolism is compromised by the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and foods high in tyramine are ingested, a hypertensive crisis can result, as tyramine also can displace stored monoamines, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, from pre-synaptic vesicles. Tyramine is considered a "false neurotransmitter", as it enters noradrenergic nerve terminals and displaces large amounts of norepinephrine, which enters the blood stream and causes vasoconstriction.