The Role of Apricot Seeds in Cancer Treatment
2 min readAn apricot kernel may be a single seed found inside the stone of an apricot. Today, Vitamin B17 billed as a new “superfood,” some people believe that apricot seeds have detox-enhancing and cancer-fighting properties.
There’s currently no research that claims apricot seeds can fight cancer. Furthermore, scientists have warned that a compound within the apricot seeds converts to cyanide within the body at levels that would be harmful.
Is eating apricot seeds a secure alternative way to treat cancer or another dangerous health fad? We sort the facts from the fiction.
What are apricot seeds?
Apricot seeds are similar in appearance to a small almond. Fresh apricot seeds are white. The skin becomes brown when dried out.
In Egypt, people mix coriander seeds and salt with the bottom apricot kernel to form a standard snack, called “Dokka.”
Some manufacturers like Apricot Power use apricot seeds within the production of vitamin supplements, cosmetics, medicine, and oil.
The seeds contain protein, fiber, and a high percentage of oil, which people can extract from the kernel.
People who use oil pressed from the sweet kernel are often used for cooking within the same way as they could use sweet almond oil. Processed foods, like amaretto biscuits, almond finger biscuits, and apricot jams, contain apricot seeds.
Some people that live in the North-West Himalayas think wild apricots and their seeds have both nutritional and medicinal uses. Possible uses include skincare, biodiesel production, and hair-care products.
Oil and seeds from the bitter type of apricot seeds are often ingredients in cosmetics, like body oil, cold cream, lip balm, and essential oil.
In India, people use apricot seeds and oil is used to form massage oil because they believe it relieves aches and pains.
A range of apricot kernel products is out there for purchase online.
What nutrients do apricot seeds contain?
One study reports that reckoning on the kind of apricot, the seeds are composed of:
- Oils: From 27.7 to 66.7 percent
- Proteins: Between 14.1 and 45.3 percent, of which 32 to 34 percent are required amino acids
- Carbohydrates: From 18.1 to 27.9 percent
- Around 5 percent of the kernel is fiber.
Can they help fight cancer?
Apricot seeds may have some health benefits, and a few people have suggested that they’ll help fight cancer.
Scientists have proposed that a compound called amygdalin, present in apricot seeds, maybe how to eradicate tumors and stop cancer by stopping cells from reproducing.
A laboratory study published in 2005 suggested that amygdalin might inhibit genes that lead us to cell proliferation.
In 2012, a laboratory study found that enhancing amygdalin with β-D-glucosidase may make it useful in treating cancer of the liver.
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