Cherry seeds can be eaten, but in moderation.

The cyanide in the cherry kernel is generally not digested and absorbed by the human body, even if the kernel is eaten into the body together, it will be discharged out of the body with the feces. Unless, before eating, deliberately crack the cherry kernel, take out the kernel inside to eat, so that the kernel in the cyanide will be digested and absorbed by the human body, triggering the risk of poisoning.

Clinically, the dose of hydrocyanic acid that causes poisoning in people is about 2mg per kilogram of body weight ingested, which means that a man of about 60kg would need to eat 2.4kg of cherry kernels in one sitting to show symptoms of poisoning.

Expanded:

p>There are only a few dozen micrograms of cyanogenic glycosides per gram of cherry kernel when converted to hydrocyanic acid. People usually do not intentionally eat cherry kernels, so cherry kernel poisoning is very rare. Even if there is cyanogenic glycosides in cherry kernels, it is very little, and the cyanogenic glycosides eaten may not all be converted to release hydrocyanic acid, so the possibility of causing human poisoning is too small.

While cyanide is toxic, there is no need to panic. First of all, cyanogenic glycosides themselves are non-toxic, it is only when the cell structure of the plant is destroyed that the β-glucosidase enzyme within the cyanogenic glycoside-containing plant hydrolyzes the cyanogenic glycosides to produce toxic hydrocyanic acid that causes acute poisoning in humans.

Secondly, cyanogenic glycosides are also easy to remove. Since cyanogenic glycosides are unstable to heat, thorough heating is the most effective way to remove them. It has been found that boiling can remove more than 90% of cyanogenic glycosides. Therefore, the usual international advice is not to eat cyanogenic glycoside-containing foods raw.

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