bitter almonds FYI

[Guest guest]

 

 

BACK TO ALKALOID CONTAINING PLANTS

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific noun: Prunus amygdalus var.amara

 

 

 

 

 

Family: Rose family -rosaceae.

 

 

 

Habitat: Native from Asia. It is cultivated in warm Mediterranean places, sometimes naturalized.

 

 

 

Composition: Proteins, minerals( aluminum, antimony, cadmium, calcium., cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium ..Esc) Oleic, palmitic and oxalic acids, vitamins ( A and B mainly ) amygdalin and fatty acid. Amygdalin which, by means of enzyme emulsin, in contact with saliva becomes hydrocyanic acid, a strong poison. Amino acids (Arginine, histidine, tyrosine, niacin, leucine, glycine...etc)

 

 

 

 

Active parts: Almonds of this variety (var. amara) Sweet almonds, when raw, also contain amygdalin, in less quantity, so it is not convenient to eat almonds until ripe. When fully matured they loose this poison.

For more information about sweet almond and its properties as a medicinal plant consult the section medicinal plants of Botanical

 

 

 

Uses :Bitter almonds are used as spices. Essential oil, besides being used in perfume industries, is is used as an antispasmodic of digestive tract, besides hypertension, flue..etc. Since it contains dangerous components, it is better not to use it in homemade products.

 

 

 

 

Toxicity: Very high.

To eat bitter almonds is very dangerous ( 20 almonds are a lethal dose for adults; about 10 for children) Is also very risky to use the essential oil and the distilled water obtained from bitter almonds.

Symptoms: Suffocation, bad breath, vomiting, dizziness, heart beat acceleration, respiratory breakdown and death.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks BobJudy for the very interesting article on Bitter Almonds. As I said, in season, I gather, crack, and eat the seed out of peach pits. I know of numerous old "waste" peach trees that throw their small peaches onto sidewalks. I visit them throughout late Summer, the fermenting fruit is laying on the ground filled with bees and flies, I merely rip the peach flesh away with bare hands (the bees dont seem to notice) and I take the big pit home with me. Soon that day, I put them in a vice and crack out the neat and clean "pit", it is usually orange and like a plump pumpkin seed. I notice that, oddly, within reason, the less ripe the peach (even though it is windblown, on the ground, rotting) the bigger and plumper the interior "pit". And that if you take care to pick the peach and let it fully ripen, then open it, that the pit has become noticeably thinner and frailer --obvious less "good stuff" in it, then. Anyway, I'm not untarded and I don't make a big meal out of peach pits --knowing that they contain some Prussic Acid that is cyanide (CN). Instead I just grind up a dozen or so with my grinding of almonds and filberts. The added flavor of the peach pit intensifies the taste a bit, and surely adds some antioxidant value to the blend.

 

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