THE APRICOT (PRUNUS ARMENIACA) is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.
The scientific name armeniaca was first used by Gaspard Bauhin in his Pinax Theatri Botanici (page 442), referring to the species as Mala armeniaca "Armenian apple". The name apricot probably is derived from a tree mentioned as praecocia by Pliny. Pliny says "We give the name of apples (mala) ... to peaches (persica) and pomegranates (granata) ..." Later in the same section he states "The Asiatic peach ripens at the end of autumn, though an early variety (praecocia) ripens in summer – these were discovered within the last thirty years ...". The classical authors connected armeniaca with praecocia: Putting together the Armeniaca and the Mala obtains the well-known epithet, but there is no evidence the ancients did it; Armeniaca alone meant the apricot.
Cancer & Concerns
Cyanogenic glycosides (found in most stone fruit seeds, bark, and leaves) are found in high concentration in apricot seeds. Laetrile, a poisonious but purported alternative treatment for cancer, is extracted from apricot seeds. As early as the year 502, apricot seeds were used to treat tumors, and in the 17th century, apricot oil was used in England against tumors and ulcers. However, in 1980 the National Cancer Institute in the USA declared laetrile to be an ineffective cancer treatment.
Amygdalin was first isolated in 1830. In 1845 it was used for cancer in Russia, and again in the 1920s in the United States, but it was considered too poisonous. In the 1950s a reportedly nontoxic, synthetic form was patented for use as a meat preservative, and later marketed as laetrile for cancer treatment.
In 1974, the American Cancer Society officially labelled laetrile as quackery, but advocates for laetrile dispute this label, asserting that financial motivations have tainted the published research. Some North American cancer patients have travelled to Mexico for treatment with the substance, allegedly under the auspices of Dr. Ernesto Contreras. One of these patients was actor Steve McQueen, who died in Mexico following surgery to remove a stomach tumour while undergoing treatment for mesothelioma. Laetrile advocates within the United States include Dean Burk Ph.D., a former chief chemist of the National Cancer Institute's cytochemistry laboratory and national arm wrestling champion Jason Vale, who claimed that his kidney and pancreatic cancers were cured by eating apricot seeds. Vale was convicted in 2003 for, among other things, marketing laetrile. The court also found that Vale, who had made at least $500,000 from his illegal sales of Laetrile, had committed fraud in his marketing of Laetrile. In addition, Vale defrauded the U.S. government by claiming that he qualified for Legal Aid. As a result, Vale was ordered to reimburse the government $31,000 for the costs of his appointed defense attorney. Vale, president of the New York-based Christian Brothers Contracting Corp., was sentenced to 63 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release by a United States District Court.
The US Food and Drug Administration continues to seek jail sentences for vendors selling laetrile for cancer treatment, calling it a "highly toxic product that has not shown any effect on treating cancer."
A 2006 systematic review by the Cochrane Collaboration concluded: "The claim that [l]aetrile has beneficial effects for cancer patients is not supported by data from controlled clinical trials. This systematic review has clearly identified the need for randomised or controlled clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of [l]aetrile or amygdalin for cancer treatment." Given the lack of evidence, laetrile has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health evaluated the evidence separately and concluded that clinical trials of amgydalin showed little or no effect against cancer. For example, a 1982 trial of 178 patients found that tumor size had increased in all patients. The authors reported that "the hazards of amygdalin therapy were evidenced in several patients by symptoms of cyanide toxicity or by blood cyanide levels approaching the lethal range".
The study concluded "Patients exposed to this agent should be instructed about the danger of cyanide poisoning, and their blood cyanide levels should be carefully monitored. Amygdalin (Laetrile) is a toxic drug that is not effective as a cancer treatment". Because of this, I believe for myself, just sticking to the nutrient filled parts of fruits and veggies, rather than poison that may be contained in seeds -- such as the Apricot, is the best way to go!
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apricot_and_cross_section.jpg
- http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=3
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apricots_Drying_In_Cappadocia.JPG
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdalin
- http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=2593
- http://www.regenerativenutrition.com/apricot-kernel-cancer-amygdalin-b17.asp
- http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_T1X8AnE8ocg/S9jkV2JDuGI/AAAAAAAABbA/ b_tbSq2ERPI/s1600/Apricot+Flowers.jpg
