Are cherries poisonous to livestock?

[Eddy_t]

Actually the concentration inside the stone is pretty high, all prunus contains cyanide, in fact, that's the chemical responsible for the almond smell/taste. It's especially noticeable when trimming laurel, especially in summer. I once suffered quite badly trimming a large hedge - headaches and vomiting! The stones will contain the poison if not damaged, whilst, as we all know, the fruit is free from poison, similar to yew. Obviously yew contains the poison in a MUCH higher dosage though.

[Reddog]

Plants Toxic to Horses - Plant List - Ritchie Feed and Seed Inc.Ritchie Feed and Seed Inc.

 

Prunus avium:

Symptoms:

Brick red mucous membrane, panting, difficulty breathing, dilated pupils, shock.

 

Stems and leaves particularly dangerous when wilting. The seeds are also toxic.

 

Sweet Cherry

 

 

Seems at some level all Cherries are toxic, just not sure how much it would take.

 

Most times Sheep and Horses both react to the same toxin's.

Lambs would be more susceptible to lower doses of toxin, from lack of body mass to absorb toxin. Also if on the teat still, it could be magnified through the ewes milk.

[spiral]

"A couple of crushed pips can kill a child"

Don't be ridiculous! What is your evidence for that fanciful statement???

The lethal dose for a young child is over 300 stones (if they could absorb all of the cyanide). How many of us as children have swallowed dozens of cherry stones when eating them and are here to tell the tale?

 

Its what I was taught in biology at school.. {4 decades ago.}. so yes I have to agree that could be wrong...

 

Eating lots is irrelevant evidence is well though... I m sure you didn't crush them to smithereens.

 

I suspect the true figure is between about 10 times what I said & 10% of your equally ridiculous figure!

 

As for evidence , here some about peach/ almond kernels that contain the same poison {Admitadly in greater amounts. }

 

Delena Tull (Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest, 1987) wrote …

 

“Human cyanide poisoning most frequently occurs from ingestion of the seed kernels inside the stony pits [of peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, nectarines, etc.]. The classic poisoning story tells of a man who relished apple seeds also in the rose family. He saved up a large number, then ate them all at once. It was his final meal (Ricciuti 1978). In recent years health food enthusiasts have encouraged the eating of apricot seeds as a source of laetrile, allegedly to prevent cancer. Though a single apricot seed probably can be considered safe for an adult, a man who ate 28 died (Michael Ellis, letter to the author, August 1986). A small child reacts to a much lower dose of a toxin than does an adult. As few as two to five apricot or peach kernels can be fatal to a child (Ellis 1978). Cyanide has a very low lethal dose, and death can occur rapidly. [...] A few other vegetables and fruits should be treated with caution. As long as you eat lima beans in the United States, you need not worry, but if you travel outside the States, beware. Lima beans, Phaseolus liminensis and P. lunatus, contain the cyanogenetic glycoside phaseolunatin, which also converts to cyanide in the body. Cyanide levels of lima beans in the United States have been monitored since World War I.”

[woodyguy]

my "equally ridiculous figure" was calculated from the published lethal dose and the average dose of fully extracted cyanide from the average weight cherry pip.

 

So if it could be fully extracted by chewing (which is not possible) then a 10kg child would have a lethal dose of 384 pips. I rounded it down to over 300 so as not to be anti-alarmist.

If a few pips could kill you then people would be dropping like flies and you wouldn't be able to buy pounds of cherries on every high street. As you rightly observe, peach kernels are rather more poisonous. I wouldn't normally reply to something like this but statements that two pips can kill a child are seriously irresponsible. Parents have enough real things to worry about without cherry poisoning!

[spiral]

my "equally ridiculous figure" was calculated from the published lethal dose and the average dose of fully extracted cyanide from the average weight cherry pip.

 

So if it could be fully extracted by chewing (which is not possible) then a 10kg child would have a lethal dose of 384 pips. I rounded it down to over 300 so as not to be anti-alarmist.

If a few pips could kill you then people would be dropping like flies and you wouldn't be able to buy pounds of cherries on every high street. As you rightly observe, peach kernels are rather more poisonous. I wouldn't normally reply to something like this but statements that two pips can kill a child are seriously irresponsible. Parents have enough real things to worry about without cherry poisoning!

 

I think 20 to 40 in a blender would be lethal to a child..

 

 

But if you want to come down for a few pints of cider & a curry & 300 cherry pips in a blender with some rum fair enough... Ill keep the mobile on standby with 999 on speed dial... You'll have to agree in writing its your choice though. Actually you'll have to do the blending, cos it will still look bad in the red tops ....

 

As for couldn't be sold... go & eat 20 cigarettes... youll be dead...

 

But yes I didn't intend my comment to panic anyone... So sorry if a bit alarmist...

 

But the point being cherry leaves & pips are defiantly poisonous...

[woodyguy]

"I think 20 to 40 in a blender would be lethal to a child.."

We know what you think. Thankfully toxicology is a science conducted by grown ups who use evidence to safely advise on treating real people. I agree they are dangerous if you were to extract the contents of 100's of cherry kernels. The French use noyaux as a flavouring in many foods which is the kernels of these poisonous fruit. No, I won't be taking up your dare of eating 300 stones as that would be a nearly lethal dose for a child so have some risk for me. Thankfully science isn't conducted by the rules of the playground and who will take on the biggest dare. But enjoy your curry.

[spiral]

How about 200? Ill still have 999 on speed dial?

 

spiral

[Eddy_t]

There's a difference between swallowing a whole pip as a child and the poison content of a leaf, but more interestingly, why were you such a weird child to swallow the pips?

[treeseer]

Key words: particularly dangerous when wilting.

 

Prunus serotina, the native of the US, can give cows a big bellyache if they eat witling leaves. O and ps it is deciduous; only P caroliniana is evergreen here.

 

I once had a horse keel over after eating Acer rubrum leaves that were wilting. Vet had to pump stomach--quite a scene. The wife was not impressed with my arb work, letting the tree wilt and shed, increasing the nasty alkaloids.

[silky fox]

That's very interesting Guy.