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Review
. 2021 Apr 13;26(8):2253.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26082253.

Amygdalin: Toxicity, Anticancer Activity and Analytical Procedures for Its Determination in Plant Seeds

Ewa Jaszczak-Wilke  1 , Żaneta Polkowska  1 , Marek Koprowski  2 , Krzysztof Owsianik  2 , Alyson E Mitchell  3 , Piotr Bałczewski  2   4
Affiliations
Review

Amygdalin: Toxicity, Anticancer Activity and Analytical Procedures for Its Determination in Plant Seeds

Ewa Jaszczak-Wilke et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Amygdalin (d-Mandelonitrile 6-O-β-d-glucosido-β-d-glucoside) is a natural cyanogenic glycoside occurring in the seeds of some edible plants, such as bitter almonds and peaches. It is a medically interesting but controversial compound as it has anticancer activity on one hand and can be toxic via enzymatic degradation and production of hydrogen cyanide on the other hand. Despite numerous contributions on cancer cell lines, the clinical evidence for the anticancer activity of amygdalin is not fully confirmed. Moreover, high dose exposures to amygdalin can produce cyanide toxicity. The aim of this review is to present the current state of knowledge on the sources, toxicity and anticancer properties of amygdalin, and analytical methods for its determination in plant seeds.

Keywords: almond; amygdalin; analytical procedures; anticancer activity; cyanogenic glycosides; hydrogen cyanide; toxicity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of amygdalin (a) and Laetrile (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hydrogen cyanide formation as a result of hydrolysis of amygdalin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Total publications by year (a) and sum of times cited by year (b) for amygdalin as a topic (Web of Science®, accessed on 3rd March 2021).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Hydrogen cyanide formation as a result of hydrolysis of amygdalin.
Figure 5
Figure 5
General workflow during the analysis of seed samples.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Changes in the amygdalin content in edible plants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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