"Food Safety Guide" Series | Are apple seeds poisonous? Don't chew the seeds of these fruits

When eating apples, would you choose to eat the whole apple with the seeds and skin? There was a media report that a baby had abdominal pain and vomiting after drinking juice squeezed from a whole apple, which caused people to speculate that "the seeds in apples are poisonous." Is this really the case? Today, we will share some scientific knowledge with you.

Are apple seeds poisonous?

Apples are one of the most popular fruits in the world. They have small, black seeds that taste bitter, so most people won't eat them. But some people think that the whole apple can be eaten and can help "fight cancer"? In fact, apple seeds contain a plant compound called amygdalin (also known as cyanogenic glycosides). Amygdalin is part of the seed's chemical defense. It is harmless by itself, but when the whole seed is broken, chewed or digested, amygdalin degrades into hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide has been used as a poison throughout history. It interferes with the oxygen supply to cells and, in high enough doses, can cause death within minutes.

What happens if you accidentally eat apple seeds?

If you happen to eat a few apple seeds, you will not experience obvious discomfort or immediate poisoning. This is because apple seeds have a protective coating that resists digestion. Cyanide is only produced when the seeds are damaged (such as by grinding or chewing). Therefore, swallowing a few apple seeds is unlikely to have serious consequences.

However, if the human body eats a large amount of apple seeds for a long time, a large amount of hydrocyanic acid will be deposited in the body, which will cause ischemia and hypoxia in the human body. It may cause poisoning of the body, and symptoms such as dizziness, headache, shortness of breath, coma, etc., which are harmful to human health.

How many apple seeds can cause poisoning?

An average adult would have to eat at least 150 apple seeds to be poisoned. Depending on the variety, 1 gram of apple seeds contains 1-4 mg of amygdalin, and 1 gram of finely crushed or chewed apple seeds can release 0.06-0.24 mg of cyanide. Therefore, eating more than 150 ground apple seeds could be fatal. Since an apple only has 5-8 seeds, this means chewing and eating all the seeds of more than 20 apples could be poisoned. The exact lethal dose of apple seeds varies greatly, depending on body weight, individual tolerance, and type of apple.

What other fruits should you not chew the seeds of?

Common fruits in our daily life, such as peaches, cherries, crab apples, apricots, pears, plums, loquats, etc., their seeds contain amygdalin (cyanogenic glycoside) just like apple seeds. Try to avoid eating their seeds when eating.

Fruits are very helpful to our health. They not only replenish the water needed by the human body, but also contain rich vitamins. Therefore, we should not stay away from some fruits because of some "alarmist" rumors. As long as we pay attention to avoid accidentally eating these harmful fruit seeds during consumption, you can eat them with confidence.

Author: Feng Jiahui and Liu Hao from Luoyang Normal University

Review expert: Wang Yao, associate professor of the School of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology