Bamboo shoots contain more than 500 milligrams of purine per 100 grams of bamboo shoots, which is a high purine content food. Bamboo shoots, the young shoots of bamboo, also known as bamboo shoots, are a traditional Chinese ingredient. Fresh bamboo shoots have high levels of insoluble oxalic acid within them, leading to high uric acid, which in turn leads to high purine levels. High purine foods are foods that contain between 100 and 1,000 milligrams of purine per 100 grams of food, including beer fish, shrimp, sprouted beans, and animal offal. Purine is a constituent of nuclear proteins and a source of uric acid. Purines are oxidized and metabolized in the liver into uric acid, which is then excreted by the kidneys and intestines.