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It is a well-known fact by derontologists that the Hunzi people that inhabited the highlands of northern
Pakistan, not far from where the apricot originates, are the healthiest and longest-lived people in the world.
According to researchers and medical scientists who studied the life of the Huns in their natural environment
in the 1950s and 1960s, one hundred percent of them had perfect vision, and cancer, heart attack, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and even appendicitis and gout were unknown states for them.
Throughout the year, their diet was rich in dried fruits and nuts, with apricots and apricot kernels
predominating, and their main source of fat was apricot seeds. Apricots were an important part of the Hunzi
life.
The apricot kernels contain an average of 21% protein and 52% vegetable oil and are widely used as a
substitute for almonds in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Due to its high content of
amygdalin, apricot seeds are a source of vitamin B17 and are used in alternative medicine for cancer therapy.
The American Cancer Society notes that apricots, as well as other carotene-rich fruits, reduce the risk
of cancer of the larynx, esophagus and lungs.
1.1. Pharmacological activity of amygdalin.
Amygdalin is a nitrile containing a diglycoside compound of the general formula C
20
H
27
NO
11
, molecular
weight 457.42, with the structure D-mandelonitrile-β-D-glucoside-6-β-glucoside [2] and the structural formula
fig.1.
Fig. 1. Structural formula and full chemical name of Amygdalin
Amygdalin is non-toxic, but under the action of digestive juices and enzymes in the blood it releases
HCN, which, even at relatively low concentrations, is even deadly.
Numerous studies have been performed to prove its antitussive [2] and antiasthmatic [3] effects, analgesic
[4÷9], gastro-enterologic [10,11], promoting apoptosis of human renal fibroblast [12], boosting immunity
synthesis [13÷15] (including to increase polyhydroxyalkanoates in induced human peripheral blood T-
lymphocyte proliferation), anti-diabetic properties [16,17] (including inhibiting alloxan in hyperglycemia),