Cyanide, a favorite in spy novels and murder mysteries, has gained notoriety as a deadly poison — but some TikTok users are now proposing to consume it as a remedy for acne.
The chemical is found in trace amounts in the seeds of fruits such as apples and apricots. In concentrated amounts, it affects the heart, respiratory system and central nervous system and can kill a human within minutes.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly three million times, a young woman claims she “secretly” fed her boyfriend seeds containing the toxic chemical — and that it cleared up his acne.
In another, which has been viewed 440,000 times, a woman says her clear complexion may be due to eating at least five apricot kernels as a child.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed nearly three million times, a young woman claims she ‘secretly’ gave her boyfriend seeds containing the toxic chemical — and that it cleared up his acne
Doctors have warned against copying the trend, stressing that it’s not only not an effective acne treatment, but potentially dangerous.
Doctors have warned against copying the trend, stressing that it’s not only not an effective acne treatment, but it’s potentially dangerous.
‘Foods containing cyanide tend to retain it in very low doses, which is nothing to worry about,’ says Dr Neel Patel, general practitioner at Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor. “You’d have to eat at least 150 apple seeds in one sitting to be at any risk.
‘Be careful with apricot kernels, though. These are the seeds in the apricot kernel that can be removed with pliers.
‘The European Food Safety Authority lists apricot kernels as a risk of cyanide poisoning. Eating more than three grains in one sitting may exceed the recommended safe level.
This trend can be very dangerous. Long-term symptoms of cyanide poisoning include coma, high or low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, lung damage, seizures and even death.’