Cyanide poisoning from apple seeds?

[Jason227]

Is the cardiac arrest painless? How many apple seeds would I need?

 

[genie]

This is something I've thought about a lot. Bitter/raw almonds contain a lot of that compound too. I have thought about making a tincture with vodka to extract more of it but I don't know how viable it is or even if it gets destroyed in alcohol.

 

[J&L383]

I'm a bit of a chemist as well, but I think even if you could extract the compound in sufficient purity and quantity, it's not a pleasant way to die, I think there's better ways that are well known here. As for cardiac arrest, it's quite painful I'm told. A friend of mine's father died of heart attack and it was quick but likely not painless - he never lived to tell.

 

[purelydaft]

Tens of thousands.

 

[L'absent]

If you're wondering how many cherry seeds would be needed for a lethal poisoning, the answer depends on your body weight and the amount of amygdalin in the seeds; the lethal dose of cyanide is about 1-2 mg per kg of body weight, and a chewed seed can release 0.1-0.4 mg of cyanide, so for a 70 kg person, it would take between 230 and 470 chewed seeds to reach a lethal dose, although severe poisoning could occur with lower amounts, but eating hundreds of seeds without vomiting is extremely difficult due to their bitter taste and irritating effect on the stomach, because the body has natural defense mechanisms such as the gag reflex, and a large number of seeds can cause nausea, abdominal pain, and even choking or intestinal blockage before cyanide is released in dangerous amounts.