Are cherry pits really poisonous?
The bottom line
The pits of stone fruits like cherries naturally contain a cyanide-producing chemical. Small, unintentional ingestions of intact stone fruit pits generally do not cause harm. Crushing or chewing pits before swallowing can result in the release of cyanide. The use of stone fruit pits as complementary or alternative medicine is unsupported by scientific evidence.
Prevention Tips
Avoid swallowing stone fruit pits, kernels, or seeds. Teach children to spit them out.
Do not chew or crush stone fruit pits, kernels, or seeds prior to consumption.
Remove the pits of stone fruits before placing the fruit in a blender.
Do not consume stone fruit pits, kernels, or seeds for their claimed health benefits.
This Really Happened
Case 1: A 56-year-old woman in Italy ate about 300 g of chokecherries that had been sitting in alcohol as the base for a popular homemade spirit. She developed a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty breathing. By the time she was treated in an ER, she was comatose and was having changes in her heart rhythm. She awoke the next day, but was confused, disoriented, and having hallucinations for 14 days. She never fully recovered and had permanent parkinsonism. A laboratory analysis showed that both the chokecherries and the alcoholic liquid had high concentrations of cyanide (from Pentore et al., 1996).
Case 2: A 41-year-old woman purchased apricot kernels from a health food store. She then chewed and swallowed up to 30 of them. Within minutes, she became gravely ill. She felt weak, short of breath, numb, and had difficulty swallowing. A friend called 911. When the ambulance arrived, EMTs found her on the bathroom floor moaning, sweaty, and barely responsive. Her skin was pale, and her blood pressure was low. They treated her with oxygen and an intravenous medication to increase her blood pressure and transported her to a hospital. After hearing that the woman had chewed and swallowed a large quantity of apricot kernels, the ER physician immediately began treating her with the antidote for cyanide. She improved after 24 hours of treatment in the intensive care unit and was able to go home without any complications a day later (from Suchard et al., 1998).
Case 3: A 14-year-old boy made a smoothie with about 10 whole cherries, including the pits, which were ground up in the blender. A few hours after drinking the smoothie, he had a headache and was pale, sweaty, shaky, and nauseated. He was evaluated and had lab work drawn in the ED. He recovered within 19 hours after the ingestion and had no further problems.
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What happens if you swallow a cherry pit?
Most of the time, nothing happens when you swallow a cherry pit. A cherry is a stone fruit. This means in the center of the fleshy, edible part of the fruit is a hard, stone-like shell (known as a pit). People often think that the pit is the fruit's seed, but this is incorrect. The seed is encapsulated within the shell and is sometimes called the kernel. If the cherry pit has not been chewed or broken open, it should pass intact through the digestive tract. Because of their widespread availability and the ease with which a cherry pit can be accidentally swallowed, cherry pit ingestions are a common reason people contact poison centers.
Are cherry pits toxic?
The dangerous chemical found in the seeds of stone fruits is called amygdalin. Poisoning can occur when the seeds are crushed or chewed before swallowing, releasing the amygdalin. Amygdalin is then converted by the body to cyanide. Many other types of plants found in the US, both edible and non-edible, also naturally contain cyanide compounds.
What is cyanide? Is it poisonous?
Cyanide's reputation for being deadly is well-deserved. Cyanide poisons the most basic and fundamental units of life—the cells—by depriving them of the oxygen needed for life. Even small amounts of cyanide can quickly lead to loss of consciousness, seizures, sudden loss of blood flow to vital organs, and death.
What other stone fruit pits are dangerous?
Apricots, plums, peaches, apples, mangoes, and nectarines are other examples of stone fruits. The amount of amygdalin in the pits of stone fruits varies widely, both between different types of stone fruits (such as cherries vs. plums) and even within the same type of fruit (such as cherries grown in one region vs. cherries grown in another region).
In general, unintentional ingestions do not lead to poisoning because it is unlikely that someone would chew or crush the pits prior to swallowing them, and because unintentional ingestions tend to be of small amounts.
Does amygdalin have any health benefits?
A drug called Laetrile, a chemical that comes from amygdalin found in stone fruit seeds, gained popularity in the 1970s as a treatment for cancer despite no evidence to support this claim. It was even marketed as a new vitamin, "vitamin B17." Health-food stores began to sell apricot kernels for their natural amygdalin content and its claimed anticancer benefits. As a result, several cyanide poisonings from the ingestion of large amounts of apricot kernels occurred. Scientific studies have shown that Laetrile has no anti-cancer activity in humans, and it has since lost much of its popularity. However, there are still some apricot kernel products being sold, especially on the internet, with the same claims about the benefits of "vitamin B17."
I swallowed a stone fruit pit. What should I do?
If someone swallows a stone fruit pit or if you have a question about stone fruit pit safety, use the webPOISONCONTROL® online tool to get help, or call your poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Whether online or by phone, expert guidance is always free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
