Apricot seeds are not safe to eat raw, particularly the bitter variety. Bitter apricot kernels contain amygdalin, a compound that converts into hydrogen cyanide during digestion. The European Food Safety Authority found that as few as three small bitter kernels could exceed the safe limit for an adult, and just one small kernel could exceed it for a toddler.
Why Apricot Seeds Produce Cyanide
Apricot seeds contain amygdalin, a natural defense chemical the plant uses against herbivores. When you chew or digest the seed, enzymes break amygdalin down in stages, ultimately releasing hydrogen cyanide into your system. This is the same chemical used in industrial poisons, and your body has only a limited ability to detoxify it.
The amount of amygdalin varies dramatically between varieties. Bitter apricot kernels contain 3% to 8% amygdalin by weight, which translates to roughly 240 to 350 mg of hydrogen cyanide per 100 grams of kernels. Sweet apricot kernels contain far less, but even these aren’t entirely free of cyanogenic compounds. The bitter varieties, which are the ones most commonly sold as health products, pose the greatest risk.
How Few Seeds Can Cause Harm
The numbers here are surprisingly small. EFSA calculated that adults could consume no more than about 0.37 grams of raw apricot kernel material (roughly three small kernels) before exceeding the acute safety threshold. For toddlers, that limit drops to 0.06 grams, meaning a single small kernel is already too much. Half of one large bitter kernel could push an adult past the safe dose.
Medical case reports illustrate how quickly things can go wrong. A 41-year-old woman who ate apricot kernels from a health food store became weak and had difficulty breathing within 20 minutes, then fell into a coma. A 5-year-old boy who ate 10 bitter kernels developed dizziness, confusion, vomiting, and seizures before becoming comatose. A 30-month-old girl experienced severe cyanide toxicity after eating just five. All of these patients survived, but only after emergency medical treatment including intensive care.
Symptoms of Cyanide Toxicity
Symptoms can appear within 20 minutes to a few hours after eating the seeds. Early signs include weakness, dizziness, confusion, nausea, and difficulty breathing. In more severe cases, people develop vomiting, seizures, dangerously low body temperature, and loss of consciousness. The progression from mild symptoms to coma can happen quickly, especially in children or people who have eaten a larger quantity.
Does Cooking Make Them Safe?
Heat does reduce the cyanide content substantially. Boiling bitter apricot seeds in water for 15 minutes has been shown to reduce cyanide levels by 98%, according to research cited by Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety. This is why bitter apricot seeds have a long history of use in traditional Chinese soups, where they’re simmered for extended periods.
The key distinction is between thorough, prolonged boiling and lighter preparation methods. Quick roasting or brief soaking won’t achieve the same reduction. If you’re using bitter apricot seeds in cooking, extended boiling in liquid is the only preparation method with strong evidence of making them significantly safer. Eating them raw, snacking on them like nuts, or grinding them into smoothies offers no protection.
The “Vitamin B17” Cancer Claim
Much of the interest in eating apricot seeds comes from claims that amygdalin (marketed as “laetrile” or “vitamin B17”) can treat cancer. This claim has been tested and does not hold up. Amygdalin is not a vitamin, and the National Cancer Institute states plainly that laetrile has shown no anticancer activity in human clinical trials.
The most rigorous test was a 1982 phase II study of 175 cancer patients who received amygdalin intravenously for 21 days, followed by oral doses, alongside vitamins and dietary changes. Only one patient showed any tumor response, a partial response lasting 10 weeks. More than half the patients had measurable disease progression by the end of IV treatment, and every patient’s cancer had progressed within seven months. The treatment did not work, and some patients developed elevated blood cyanide levels as a side effect.
Earlier, when the NCI asked practitioners to submit their best cases of patients helped by laetrile, only 93 cases were submitted. An expert panel reviewed 67 of those and found just two complete responses and four partial responses. For a treatment promoted as a cancer cure, this is essentially no meaningful activity.
What Regulators Say Right Now
The FDA issued a safety alert in May 2024 specifically warning consumers about apricot seed products sold by a company called Apricot Power. Lab analysis found high levels of amygdalin that “when consumed, could lead to fatal cyanide toxicity.” The FDA advised consumers to stop using and dispose of these products. Notably, the company declined to issue a voluntary recall even after being notified of the findings, prompting the FDA to go public with its warning.
Apricot kernels marketed as health supplements remain available online and in some stores despite these warnings. They’re often labeled with disclaimers about not being intended as food, but they’re clearly sold with the expectation that people will eat them. No regulatory body in the U.S. or Europe considers raw bitter apricot kernels safe for casual consumption.
Sweet vs. Bitter: Which Are Sold?
Sweet apricot kernels, the kind that taste similar to almonds and are used in some traditional desserts, contain much lower levels of amygdalin. These carry far less risk, though they aren’t completely cyanide-free. The products sold as cancer treatments or health supplements are almost always the bitter variety, precisely because they contain more amygdalin, which sellers promote as the active ingredient.
If you encounter apricot kernels and aren’t sure which type they are, taste is the clearest indicator. Bitter kernels have a sharp, unpleasant bitter flavor. That bitterness is itself a signal of high amygdalin content. Sweet kernels taste mild and nutty. If a product is marketed for its amygdalin or “B17” content, it’s the bitter type, and the risk of cyanide exposure is real.