Amygdalin

AMYGDALIN, Amygdalinum, C₂₀H₂₇NO₁₁, a glucoside found in bitter almonds and peach pits in an amount of about 2.5-3.5%; a considerable amount of A. is contained in the leaves of the laurel cherry tree, bird cherry (Prunus padus) and bird cherry (Prunus avium) and in smaller amounts in the pits of plums, cherries and apple seeds. A. is a crystalline powder, odorless, bitter-tasting, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, levorotatory, of neutral reaction. When boiled with weak HCl or treated with the enzyme emulsin, found in bitter and sweet almonds, A. breaks down into sugar, benzaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid. A. as such is little toxic and partly passes into the urine unchanged, but when decomposing in the intestine under the influence of enzymes and bacteria it is a source of hydrocyanic acid and can cause poisoning. A. is administered internally up to 0.02 pro dosi, as an analgesic for intestinal catarrhs in an emulsion, where A. decomposes with the formation of hydrocyanic acid.