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Although the amygdin contained in apricot kernel kernels has no proven effect on cancer, it is, on the other hand, toxic at high doses because of the product of its metabolism: cyanide. The National Food Safety Agency (ANSES) and its European counterpart ENSA report 154 cases of intoxication following significant consumption of these almonds. They recall that they are only harmless at low doses.
Amygdalin is a natural substance found in apricot kernel kernels (seed inside the apricot kernel), peaches , plums and other stone fruits. It was isolated in the 1950s by scientist Ernst Krebs. Once ingested, the amygdalin is converted by the enzyme (protein making a chemical reaction) beta-glucosidase then becomes, following the action of intestinal bacteria, cyanide. However, cyanide blocks an important component of the respiratory chain of cells, that is, all the chemical reactions that allow it to make the energy it needs to function. This results in a "suffocation" of the cells. For example, "Cyanide poisoning" may cause symptoms such as nausea, fever, headache, insomnia, thirst, lethargy, nervousness, joint and muscle pain, or even drop in blood pressure (19459005). EFSA, according to which, " in extreme cases, life-threatening can be engaged ". This substance can be "detoxified" naturally by the body by an enzyme called rhodanase, but only for very small amounts of about 2 or 3 apricot kernel almonds for an adult.
No evidence of efficacy of the amygdalin against cancer, but a proven toxicity
According to the German Health Agency, the BfArM, whose expertise is a reference at the European level, two theories circulate to explain the effectiveness lent to the amygdalin on cancer
THEORY 1: SENSITIVITY OF CANCER CELLS . The first is that cancer cells have more beta-glucosidase and less rhodanase than healthy cells. They would therefore convert the amygdalin more toxic cyanide they would be less able to get rid of, which would allow a "selective" effect of amygdalin toxicity. " This thesis was already refuted in the 1980s by measurements of the β-glucosidase, β-glucuronidase and rhodanase content in healthy and tumorous tissues ", explains the Agency. These measured concentrations " did not differ significantly between healthy cells and tumor cells ", joining the results " from studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States "
THEORY 2: METABOLIC DISEASE . According to the second theory, cancer is a "metabolic disease" due to a lack of vitamins, especially vitamin B17 … An old name given to amygdalin. False name, moreover, since the amygdalin is actually " not a vitamin ", explains EFSA. In addition, amygdalin is not essential for the functioning of the human body, recalls BfArM.
In the 1980s, an American study tests amygdalin on 175 cancer patients, in addition to a healthy diet and vitamin supplements. A third of them had never received any chemotherapy. The dose administered daily is then 4.5 grams of amygdalin per square meter of body surface area, or about 7.7 grams per day, a dose consistent with the practices of the time. The result is catastrophic, since only one patient seems to respond " partially and transiently " to treatment before finally dying, while 158 patients die within 4.8 months, a delay corresponding to that of non-patients treaties. " Amygdalin is a toxic substance that is not effective in treating cancer ," conclude the authors of the study, published in the prestigious journal New England Journal of Medicine. Shortly thereafter, the FDA banned amygdalin.
One can object today that amygdalin is known to become toxic between 40 and 280 milligrams (0.5 to 3 , 5 mg per kilogram, based on an average weight of 80 kg). The dose administered in 1980 is therefore very high. Yet today, only studies dating from 2003 to 2006 suggest an anti-cancer effect of amygdalin, but only in vitro that is to say in the laboratory and not in an organism alive, reports the prestigious Cochrane review. But on living beings, no quality publication could be badyzed, deplore the authors, who conclude that " amygdalin does not benefit patients with advanced cancer, and there is no reason to believe that it would be more effective in the early stages of the disease ", while its toxicity is proven.
No more than 1 to 3 almonds per day for adults, half for children [19659004] Despite all these works, amygdalin continues to be sold on the internet and " are increasingly consumed as a natural remedy for alleged properties 'anti-cancer' ," worries ANSES . " There is no scientific evidence " suggesting that this nut prevents or cures the disease, she said. However, it " arouses a craze that is measured on the internet where sites encourage their consumption in large quantities, ranging from 10 almonds per day prevention to 60 almonds for people with cancer ", lamented the Agency. It thus reports in a report of 154 cases of intoxication between January 2012 and October 2017. Two of them particularly illustrate the danger: a 54-year-old woman who " after consuming 50 almonds in one day ", was hospitalized with hypotension, and an 87-year-old man who had eaten 40, and who had" cardiac malaise ". In the other cases, numerous symptoms have been reported: dizziness, feeling unwell, headache, digestive disorders, palpitations, respiratory discomfort.
The Agency therefore advises not to consume more than 1 to 3 almonds for adults and half a small almond for young children. But that the amateurs are rebadured: " the consumption of these almonds with a goal of food approval remains possible ", as long as one is reasonable. In addition, normal consumption of apricots poses no risk to the health of consumers, since the kernel is inside the apricot kernel and, therefore, does not come into contact with the fruit itself.
With AFP
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