Bitter almond is a commonly used medicine for relieving cough and asthma in clinic. Traditionally, it is considered to have little toxicity and can only be used as medicine after processing. In ancient and modern times, the methods of frying and boiling are often used to process bitter almonds. 1. tonic soaking in cold water Modern research has confirmed that the cough relieving effect of bitter almond is produced by hydrocyanic acid, the decomposition product of bitter almond glycoside contained in it. Soaking in cold rice sauce caused a great loss of amygdalin, some of which was as high as over 90%. The content of amygdalin was reduced from 2.23 1% in raw products to 0.22 1%, which reduced the pharmacological action of this medicine. It is advisable to evaporate and process bitter almonds, which contain amygdalin and an enzyme that decomposes amygdalin. If this enzyme is not destroyed in time, amygdalin will decompose when it is stored for a long time, which will reduce its pharmacological effects. In order to prevent amygdalin from being destroyed, bitter almond is processed by boiling, frying and steaming. When boiled, bitter almond is in direct contact with water, and the loss of amygdalin is large, and the loss increases with the extension of boiling time. Stir-frying is dry heating, the heating is uneven, the heat is not easy to control, and the enzyme is basically not destroyed. Some people made three experimental studies on bitter almond: steaming, frying and baking. The results showed that the enzyme was completely destroyed after steaming for one hour. The fried enzyme is basically not destroyed; Drying at 80oC can't destroy its enzyme. From this point of view, steaming is the best way to process bitter almond. 3. Bitter almonds should not be peeled and pointed to process bitter almonds. It is required to be peeled and pointed in ancient and modern times, which is not only labor-consuming and time-consuming, but also reduces the content of effective ingredients. Therefore, it is recommended not to peel and pointed when processing bitter almonds. To sum up, the methods of steaming, boiling, frying and baking are used to process bitter almonds, all of which are aimed at destroying catabolic enzymes, preserving amygdalin and improving the curative effect of bitter almonds. However, frying and baking can not destroy the purpose of the enzyme, and boiling will lead to a large loss of effective components, and it will take time and labor to remove the skin tip. Therefore, the processing method of bitter almond after steaming and drying in the sun is the best.

Almond is rich in protein, fat, sugar, carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin P, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other nutrients. Among them, the content of carotene is second only to mango in fruits, and people call almonds anti-cancer fruits. Almond is rich in fatty oil, which can reduce cholesterol. Therefore, almond has a good effect on preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, almond has the effects of promoting fluid production to quench thirst, moistening lung and relieving asthma, and is often used for health care and treatment of patients with lung dryness, asthma and cough. A recent study by American researchers shows that people with normal or slightly higher cholesterol levels can use almonds to replace foods with low nutritional density in their diet, so as to reduce blood cholesterol and maintain heart health. Researchers believe that almond is rich in various nutrients, such as vitamin E, monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber, which can effectively reduce the risk of heart disease. The total cholesterol level of 85 middle-aged and elderly volunteers (average age 56 years old) in the sample decreased by 7.6%, and the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level decreased by 9%. It also did not cause weight gain.