43
ABSTRACT
Cyanogenic glycosides are present in at least 2500 taxonomic groups of different plant families, including many 
economically important fruit species. They are most concentrated in the seeds of fruits and may pose a risk to human 
health due to the release of cyanide. In the present study, we compared the cyanide content in the pits of cherries (Prunus 
avium L.), plums (Prunus domestica L.), and gages (Prunus domestica subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams) using the picrate paper 
method. The lowest cyanide content (19.6 µg/g) was found in a cherry accession (R x L 98), and the highest (310 µg/g) in 
a gage accession (Gage 6319). Considerable variation in cyanide content was found within varieties of a fruit tree species, 
reaching a coefficient of variation of 56.9% for cherries, 54.4% for plums, and 30.5% for gages. Looking at the overall 
medians, the results show that the cyanide content in the pits of gages was significantly higher than the cyanide content in 
the pits of plums and cherries.
Key words: cyanide, pits, cherries, gages, plums
Agricultura 19: No 1: 43-50(2022)
https://doi.org/10.18690/agricultura.19.1.43-50.2022
Cyanide Contents in Pits of Cherries, Gages and Plums Using a 
Modified Sensitive Picrate Method
Luka GRGURIČ, Tadeja KRANER ŠUMENJAK, Janja KRISTL*
University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Pivola 10, 2311 Hoče, Slovenia
*Correspondence to: 
E-mail: janja.kristl@um.si                                                                                                                                       
INTRODUCTION 
Cyanogenic glycosides (CGs) are organic compounds 
belonging to the group of plant secondary metabolites. 
Chemically, they are defined as α-hydroxynitrile glycosides 
to which the sugar moiety, usually glucose, is attached. At 
least 60 different CGs are found in more than 2500 taxonomic 
groups of the different plant families. The most studied are 
linamarin, amygdalin, prunasin, dhurrin, and lotaustralin 
which are found in greater amounts in agriculturally grown 
plants of economic interest (Vetter, 2000). CGs become 
toxic to humans when they are converted to hydrocyanic 
acid (HCN), during an enzymatic degradation process. 
Hydrolysis is initiated by mechanical damage to the cells 
such as grinding, rubbing, chewing, etc. HCN is acutely toxic 
to humans, with a predicted lethal dose of 0.5 to 3.5 mg/kg 
body weight (Speijers, 1993; Balhorn et al., 2009). Recently, 
EFSA (2016) reported a much lower acute toxic reference 
dose of 20 µg/kg body weight. 
Specific CGs in certain plant materials are usually 
determined by liquid chromatography coupled with mass 
spectrometry (LC-MS) (Gómez et al., 1998; Badr and Tawfik, 
2010; Lee et al., 2013; Arrazola et al, 2013). Santos et al. 
(2014) reported that amygdalin and prunasin in extracts of 
dried leaves can be quantified by nuclear magnetic resonance 
(NMR) spectroscopy. Determination of total cyanide content 
in plant materials requires cleavage of cyanogenic glycosides 
with acid or hydrolytic enzymes to release HCN (Haque and 
Bradbury, 2002; Drochioiu et al., 2008), which is then usually 
determined by the simple picrate paper method (Egan et 
al.,1998; Haque and Bradbury, 2002; Bradbury, 2009). 
The function of cyanides in plant leaves and tissues is 
attributed to defense against herbivores and pests (Ballhorn, 
2009). In contrast, the functions of CGs in seeds are less 
well studied and understood. Cyanogenic compounds are 
thought to be transferred from seed to seedling for defense 
and to function as nitrogen stores or germination inhibitors. 
Certain species in the rose family (Rosaceae) are known to 
44
contain higher concentrations of CGs. These include almonds 
(Prunus Dulcis Mill. D. A. Webb), apricots (Prunus armeniaca 
L.), peaches (Prunus persica L.), plums (Prunus domestica 
L.), cherries (Prunus avium L.), gages (Prunus domestica 
subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams) etc. Cyanide content in apricot 
and peach kernels varied from 50 to about 4000 µg/g and 
from 400 to 2600 µg/g, respectively (Ballhorn, 2011). Black 
cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) and cherry kernels contain 
amygdalin, neoamygdalin, and prunasin, with amygdalin 
present in higher amounts. Expressed as cyanide content, 
levels varied from 118 µg/g in ‘Grace Star’ to 297 µg/g in 
‘Black Star’ (Senica et al., 2017), while lower levels (2.90 
µg/g) were reported for black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) 
kernels (Brozdowski et al., 2021). The content varies greatly 
depending on fruit species, variety and many other factors 
(Ballhorn, 2011; Brozdowski et al., 2021). 
Many cases of poisoning are reported due to consumption 
of apricot kernels. Cyanide levels in raw apricot kernels range 
from 0.5 to 3800 µg/g. An average kernel weight is about 0.5 g. 
Considering the highest cyanide content, an acute reference 
dose could be exceeded in children by eating one small apricot 
kernel and in adults by eating more than three small kernels 
or less than half of one large kernel (EFSA, 2016). According 
to the report by Senica et al. (2017), caution should also 
be considered when consuming the kernels of other fruits, 
especially plum, cherry, and peach kernels and seeds. 
Plums, apricots, cherries and some other stone fruits are 
used for the production of liqueurs and alcoholic beverages 
and for homemade tinctures. The transfer of CGs from 
apricot and cherry pits into liqueurs was studied by Senica 
et al. (2016), who reported a much lower content in the 
liqueurs compared to the content in the pits and kernels. 
The concentration of CGs in liqueurs depended mainly on 
the original content in whole fruits. HCN was also found 
in canned fruit due to enzymatic hydrolysis of CGs during 
preservation, but the levels found were low (Voldřich and 
Kyzlink, 1992). Products such as spirits, liqueurs, and canned 
fruits may therefore still pose a potential risk to consumer 
health.
The objective of our study was to determine the content 
of total cyanide in the pits of plums (Prunus domestica L.), 
gages (Prunus domestica subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams), and 
cherries (Prunus avium L.). Based on the results obtained, we 
could possibly make recommendations for the use of certain 
cultivars or varieties in processing operations that do not 
remove the pits of the fruit. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample collection and preparation
Thirty cherry accessions, 20 gages accessions, and 20 
plum accessions were included in the study. The trees are 
grown on the field of Plant Gene Bank of the University of 
Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Hoče 
near Maribor and were selected using a random number 
generator. All cherry samples are crosses between two known 
cherry cultivars, Prunus avium ‘Regina’ and Prunus avium 
‘Lapins’. Plums were sorted into three groups according 
to their origin: primitive genotypes, planned crosses, and 
cultivated genotypes, and gages into two groups: primitive 
genotypes and planned crosses (Table 1). 
Thirty fully mature fruits were randomly selected per tree. 
They were sampled from different parts of the canopy to 
reduce the possible influence of fruit position on the tree on 
the content of CGs. The fruits were harvested from June to 
August in 2020.
After harvest, the pits were removed from the pulp, washed 
with water, and dried at room temperature for 24 hours. The 
pits were then stored in airtight bags at -20 °C until further 
sample preparation. The next steps included cracking the 
pits with nutcracker tongs to expose the kernels, followed 
by freeze-drying (Christ Alpha 1–2 LD, Vacuumbrand 
GMBH, Germany). The pits were then ground to a relatively 
fine, homogeneous powder using a Tefal the Real Grinder 
GT110838. To avoid a potentially large heat input from 
grinding, the sample size was approximately 10 g and the 
grinding time was limited to 40 s. The samples were then 
vacuum sealed and stored at -80 °C until analysis.
Determination of total cyanide
The sensitive picrate method of Bradbury (2009), modified 
by Desser (2015), was used to determine total cyanide content 
in gage, plum, and cherry pits. Picrate papers were prepared 
by cutting filter papers (Machery-Nagel, MN 615) into 2 cm 
x 10 cm strips that were immersed in a 0.5% aqueous picric 
acid solution containing 5% sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) 
until completely saturated. They were then dried at room 
temperature and cut into 1 cm x 1 cm squares. 
Samples (30 to 100 mg) of the freeze-dried, finely ground 
pits were weighed into headspace screw top vials. Then, 
0.5 mL of phosphate buffer with a pH of 5.0 and 50 μl of 
β-glucosidase enzyme solution (2 mg/mL) (Thermotoga 
maritima with an activity of 73.8 U/mg protein) were added. 
Immediately after the addition of the enzyme, the picrate 
paper was also added to the vial so that it was suspended 
above the sample solution by tightly sealing the glass vial 
with a portion of the plastic strip remaining on the outside. 
The vials were placed in an incubator at 40 °C for at least 
20 hours, and then cooled to room temperature. The picrate 
papers were detached from the plastic strips and transferred 
to 1.5 mL centrifuge tubes. Afterwards, 1 mL of Milli-Q 
water was added to elute the color from the papers. The 
solutions were shaken and centrifuged (15 min at 10 °C and 
10.000 rpm). The absorbance of the solutions was measured 
at 510 nm on the UV/Vis spectrophotometer (Varian Cary 50 
Bio). In parallel with the sample preparation, a blank sample 
and a calibration curve were prepared using amygdalin as a 
standard. The calibration curve was prepared in the range 
of cyanide content from 0.5 to 9 µg/ml. Each sample was 
analyzed in three replicates.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was performed using the programme 
IBM SPSS Statistics 28. For each fruit variety we calculated 
the mean ( ), standard deviation (SD), minimum value 
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
45
(min), maximum value (max), median (me), first quartile 
(q1), and third quartile (q3). The nonparametric equivalent 
of an ANOVA, called the Kruskal-Wallis test, was conducted, 
because the assumption of homogeneity of variance and 
normality was violated. The results of this test indicated that 
there was a difference between the medians of at least one 
pair of groups, so we proceeded with the Dunn-Bonferroni 
post-hoc test. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Total cyanide content in pits of cherries, 
plums and gages
The total cyanide content in the cherry pits examined in 
our study varied from 19.63 µg/g in the R x L 98 accession 
to 167 µg/g in the R x L 111 accession (Table 2). Cyanide 
ions were released from samples during enzymatic hydrolysis 
of amygdalin, prunasin, and neoamygdalin. Senica et al. 
Fruit species Origin Plant ID
Cherry (Prunus avium L.) P. avium 'Regina' x P. avium 'Lapins'
R x L 14 R x L 66
R x L 53 R x L 43
R x L 30 R x L 26
R x L 101 R x L 32
R x L  19 R x L 111
R x L 105 R x L 49
R x L 83 R x L 104
R x L 98 R x L 123
R x L 120 R x L 17
R x L 34 R x L 94
R x L 39 R x L 79
R x L 78 R x L 45
R x L 103 R x L 73
R x L 97 R x L 29
R x L 118 R x L 11
Plum (Prunus domestica L.)
Primitive genotype
Yellow plum  Local genotype No 9
Red plum  Laška plum 3 
Laška plum 1 Laška plum 2 
Very old genotype Natural hybrid Vrbanska 
Private collection plum No 1
Planned cross
3576 plum
 I.A. Early dark plum 
Small plum 
Cultivated genotype
'Jojo' 'Hanita' 
Apriplum 'Ruth Gerstetter' 
'Elena' 'Elena' 2
'Empress' 'Ersinger' 
Gage (Prunus domestica 
subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams)
Primitive genotype
Gage No 19 Gage No 27 
Gage No 17 Gage 6357 
Reddish yellow gage Gage No 1 
Purple gage Gage No 2 
Gage K22 Gage No 12 
Small-fruiting gage No 2 Gage 6403 
Gage 6319 Gage B6 
Gage B4 Gage No 16 
Gage 6378 Gage K-9 
Planned cross
I.A. 3 Gage 
 
A.I. 8 Red-leaved gage
Table 1: Cherry, plum and gage accessions included in the study
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
46
Fruit species Origin Plant ID Average cyanide content ± SD (µg/g) 
Cherry (Prunus avium L.) P. avium 'Regina' x P. avium 'Lapins'
R x L 14 36.9 ± 1.5
R x L 53 27.9 ± 1.2
R x L 30 127 ± 3
R x L 101 107 ± 10
R x L 19 99.1 ± 4.1
R x L 105 25.2 ± 2.1
R x L 83 28.3 ± 0.1
R x L 98 19.6 ± 1.3
R x L 120 20.5 ± 0.8
R x L 34 66.5 ± 4.1
R x L 39 140 ± 2
R x L 78 83.1 ± 2.2
R x L 103 58.2 ± 1.6
R x L 97 40.2 ± 3.6
R x L 118 54.3 ± 4.8
R x L 66 59.8 ± 3.1
R x L 43 62.2 ± 1.1
R x L 26 105 ± 10
R x L 32 77.9 ± 0.9
R x L 111 167 ± 1
R x L 49 48.2 ± 0.3
R x L 104 35.0 ± 2.8
R x L 123 72.8 ± 4.6
R x L 17 26.1 ± 2.4
R x L 94 27.0 ± 1.4
R x L 79 69.7 ± 2.5
R x L 45 100 ± 1
R x L 73 119 ± 1
R x L 29 54.0 ± 0.8
R x L 11 93.0 ± 4.3
Plum (Prunus domestica L.)
Primitive genotype
Yellow plum 119 ± 1
Red plum 173 ± 2
Laška plum 1 165 ± 1
Very old genotype 175 ± 4
Local genotype No 9 74.9 ± 1.0
Laška plum 3 50.4 ± 0.6
Laška plum 2 76.1 ± 7
Natural hybrid Vrbanska 182 ± 2
Private collection plum No 1 185 ± 2
Planned cross
3576 plum 253 ± 9
I.A. Early dark plum 131 ± 1
Small plum 35.6 ± 1
Cultivated 
genotype
'Elena' 2 58.1 ± 1.1
'Elena' 61.5 ± 0.9
'Jojo' 140 ± 2
Apriplum 169 ± 1
'Empress' 116 ± 2
'Hanita' 39.6 ± 0.8
'Ruth Gerstetter' 37.1 ± 0.7
'Ersinger' 70.4 ± 1.2
Table 2: Cyanide content in the pits of cherries, plums and gages. Results are averages of three measurements reported on a dry 
weight basis
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
47
(2017) reported that their levels in cherry kernels ranged 
from 1307.65 µg/g to 2882.76 µg/g, 425.32 µg/g to 1372.82 
µg/g and 14.92 µg/g to 35.03 µg/g, respectively. Similar 
concentrations of amygdalin in red and black cherry seeds 
were reported by Bolarinwa et al. (2014). These values were 
considerably higher than those obtained in our study when 
expressed as total cyanide content on a dry weight basis and 
can be attributed to higher cyanide concentrations in the 
seeds compared to the whole pits used in our study. Lee et al. 
(2017) found significantly higher levels of amygdalin in seeds 
compared to the endocarp and mesocarp of peach fruit.
As can be seen in Table 2, the cyanide content in the pits of 
the plum accessions also varied noticeably, ranging from 35.6 
µg/g (3576 plum) to 253 µg/g (Natural hybrid Vrbanska). 
Plum accession 3576 is a planned cross, while Natural hybrid 
Vrbanska is a primitive genotype. The highest mean cyanide 
content (162 µg/g) was determined in pits of wild genotypes, 
followed by cultivated accessions (87.3 µg/g) and planned 
crosses (51.8 µg/g). The cyanide content of all plum pits in 
our study is lower than the average values (764 mg HCN/g, 
377.6 mg HCN/g) reported by Haque and Bradbury (2002) 
and Sheikh et al. (2021) for plum kernel samples. Bolarinwa 
(2014) showed that the amygdalin content in plum seeds 
depends mainly on the variety. 
Total cyanide levels in wild genotypes of gages ranged 
from 124 µg/g (Gage K-9) to 310 µg/g (Gage 6319). We also 
included two accessions from a planned cross, whose cyanide 
levels ranged from 58.6 µg/g (A.I. 3 gage) to 203 µg/g (A.I. 
8 red-leaved gage) (Table 2). To our knowledge, no studies 
could be found that included cyanogenic glycoside analysis 
in any fruit part of gage fruits. 
Considerable variation in cyanide content was found 
within the studied varieties of a fruit tree species, reaching 
a coefficient of variation of 56.9% for cherries, followed by 
plums (54.3%) and gages (30.5%) (Table 3). The differences in 
cyanide content within fruit tree species could be attributed 
to variety and other factors such as growing practices and 
environmental conditions, which are generally poorly defined 
(Vetter, 2000; Ballhorn 2011; Kaack, 2017; Lee et al., 2017).
Differences in cyanide content in pits of three 
fruit species
The results of the descriptive statistics for the three fruit 
species are shown in Table 3. Gage pits contained the most 
cyanide (me = 250 µg/g), followed by plums (me = 118 µg/g) 
and cherries (me = 61.0 µg/g). The Kruskal-Wallis test showed 
statistical significance of fruit species on total cyanide content 
(p < 0.001). We also performed a multiple comparison 
test, which revealed a statistically significant difference in 
total cyanide content between the medians of cherries and 
gages and plums and gages, while no statistically significant 
differences were found between cherries and plums (Table 3). 
We used the medians for analysis because the distribution of 
gage samples was abnormal, as shown in Figure 1 (also tested 
using Shapiro Wilk test, sig.=0.037).
Among the fruit species included in our study, plums are the 
most commonly used fruit for the production of spirits and 
liqueurs. Small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides present in 
plums and other species contribute to the distinctive flavors 
and qualities of spirits and liqueurs, but may be harmful to 
human health at higher concentrations. The content of CGs 
in spirits depends mainly on the amount present in the raw 
material (Śliwińska et al., 2015; Senica et al., 2016; Senica et 
al., 2017).  According to our results, the transfer of cyanides 
Gage (Prunus domestica 
subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams)
Primitive genotype
Gage No 27 289 ± 15
Gage 6357 177 ± 6
Gage No 1 246 ± 9
Gage No 2 190 ± 7
Gage No 12 275 ± 21
Gage 6403 255 ± 18
Gage B6 293 ± 21
Gage No 16 238 ± 8
Gage K-9 124 ± 1
Gage No 19 281 ± 18
Gage No 17 270 ± 10
Reddish yellow gage 276 ± 11
Purple gage 124 ± 4
Gage K22 159 ± 7
Small-fruiting gage No 2 300 ± 12
Gage 6319 310 ± 23
Gage B4 226 ± 17
Gage 6378 274 ± 25
Planned cross
A.I. 3 Gage 58.6 ± 0.7
A.I. 8 Red-leaved gage 203 ± 10
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
48
from cherry pits should not pose a risk in the production of 
cherry liqueurs, as their average concentrations are up to 2 
times lower compared to plums and 4 times lower compared 
to gages. The results also suggest that the cultivars ‘Hanita’, 
‘Ruth Gerstetter’, and accessions R x L 105, R x L 98, R x L 120, 
gage K-9, purple gage and A.I. 3 gage may be more suitable 
for whole fruit processing, including pits, because of their low 
total cyanide content. On the other hand, caution should be 
considered when making liqueurs or tinctures from fruits of 
wild cultivars, as they may contain up to 5 times more cyanide 
than cultivated genotypes such as P. domestica ‘Hanita’ and P. 
domestica ‘Ruth Gerstetter’, which are commonly available in 
nurseries throughout Europe.
Table 3: Descriptive statistics of cyanide content in gages, plums and cherries accessions (µg/g)
Gages Plums Cherries
n 20 20 30
min 58.6 35.6 19.6
max 310 253 167
228 116 68.4
SD 69.6 14.0 38.9
me 250 118 61.0
CV (%) 30.5 54.3 56.9
Percentile
25 180 58.9 33.3
50 250 118 61.0
75 279 172 99.4
n - total number of samples, min - minimum value, max - maximum value,  - average value, SD - standard deviation, me - median, CV(%) - coefficient of 
variation
Medians (n=20 for gages and plums, and 30 for cherries) labeled with the same letter are not significantly different (Dunn-Bonferroni post hoc test, p < 0.05). 
Figure 1: Comparison of medians and sample distributions of three fruit species
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
49
CONCLUSION
Analysis of cyanide content in the pits of various plum, 
cherry, and gage accessions revealed considerable variability 
both within and among fruit species. Furthermore, total 
cyanide content can vary considerably even within the same 
crosses. In view of our results, the R x L 98 (cherry), 3576 
(plum) and A.I.3 gage accessions may be more suitable for 
processing because of their low cyanide content. Further 
research should focus on the determination of cyanide content 
in plum and cherry pits of the varieties most commonly used 
for spirit and liqueur production, as well as on the transfer of 
compounds from the fruit to other end products.
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Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method
50
Uporaba pikratne metode za določitev vsebnosti cianida v koščicah 
češenj, ringlojev in sliv 
IZVLEČEK
Cianogeni glikozidi so prisotni v vsaj 2500 taksonomskih skupinah različnih rastlinskih družin, ki vključujejo številne 
gospodarsko pomembne sadne vrste. Koncentrirajo se v semenih plodov in lahko predstavljajo tveganje za zdravje ljudi, ker 
se pri hidrolizi sprošča cianid. V naši raziskavi smo s pikratno metodo določili vsebnost skupnega cianida v koščicah češenj 
(Prunus avium L.), sliv (Prunus domestica L.) in ringlojev (Prunus domestica subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams). Najnižjo vsebnost 
(19,6 µg/g) smo izmerili v koščicah akcesije češnje R x L 98 in najvišjo (310 µg/g) v akcesiji ringloja 6319. Znatne razlike v 
vsebnosti cianida smo zabeležili tudi znotraj sadnih vrst s koeficienti variacije 56,9 % pri češnjah, 54,4 % pri slivah in 30,5 % pri 
ringlojih. Primerjava srednjih vrednosti znotraj sadnih vrst je pokazala, da je vsebnost cianida v koščicah ringlojev statistično 
značilno višja kot v koščicah sliv in češenj.
Ključne besede: cianid, koščice, češnje, ringloji, slive
Cyanide contents in pits of cherries, gages and plums using a modified sensitive picrate method