# Apple seeds contain cyanide?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [June 24, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119 "2003-06-24T20:12:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119/1 "2003-06-24T20:12:31Z")
From this column, recently dug out of Cecil’s archives:
> [@](#):
>
> Fruits of the rose family–including cherries, apples, plums, almonds, peaches, apricots, and crabapples–contain in their seeds substances known as cyanogenetic glycosides, which on ingestion release hydrogen cyanide gas through an enzymatic reaction. They can most certainly do you in.
Does this mean I shouldn’t give apple cores to my pet rats? Whenever I give them one, they decend upon it like the ravenous little beasties they are and tear it apart. They love them apple seeds.
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### Author:  [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)
#### Post date: [June 24, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119/2 "2003-06-24T23:31:47Z")
Sorry, forgot the link.
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1\_212.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_212.html)
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [June 25, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119/3 "2003-06-25T01:33:23Z")
I’ve eaten plenty of apple seed without any harm, so if they contain cyanide it can’t be very much.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [June 25, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119/4 "2003-06-25T01:44:48Z")
As the article indicates, the rats should be OK if you don’t feed them to many cores in too short of a time. Rats may also be more resistant to some toxins than humans, given the diet they eat.
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### Author:  [@Roger\_Mexico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_Mexico)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apple-seeds-contain-cyanide/184119/5 "2003-06-26T23:28:34Z")
Apple seeds contain amygdalin which is a cyanogenic glycoside, which can release cyanide. Cyanide is not really that toxic, in relative terms.
"Apple seeds average around 0.6 mg hydrogen cyanide (HCN) per gram of dry seed. Since the lethal dose of HCN is estimated to be about 50 mg, you need around 85 grams (3 ounces) of dry seeds. This is around half a cup, which requires a lot of apples. The HCN must be liberated from the sugar it’s chemically attached to. This occurs when the moistened seed is crushed,releasing an enzyme, emulsion, which does the job. Apparently this also occurs in the stomach, due to the hydrochloric acid there. "
[http://www.spaink.net/suicide/suicide\_poison\_natural.html#rose](http://www.spaink.net/suicide/suicide_poison_natural.html#rose)