The Pharmacological Activities and Toxicological Effects of Amygdalin: A Review

Background: Amygdalin has a wide range of pharmacological activities including analgesic and antiasthmatic effects. In spite of several studies that have shown the cytotoxic effects of amygdalin on the different cancer cell lines, no general agreement has yet been reached on the anticancer aspect of amygdalin. Objectives: The review aims to focus on the pharmacological activities and toxicological effects of amygdalin and provide a reference and perspective for its further investigation. Methods: Electronic databases including the Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar and sciencedirect were searched up to identify eligible studies about of the pharmacological activities and toxicological effects of amygdalin and provide a reference and perspective for its further investigation. Generally, a total of 90 papers about in vitro/in vivo studies on amygdalin have been reviewed. Results: Pharmacological activities of amygdalin have been well documented over the years, however, in some cases; dose-dependent toxicity has been reported in the human body. Since the acute toxicity experiments of amygdalin has proved that the toxicity of oral administration route is far greater than the intravenous route. Thus, several in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to assess the amygdalin rsquo;s pharmacological value as the induction of apoptosis and anticancer drug. Conclusion: Amygdalin is known to have generally dose-dependent effects with positive or desirable effects at lower doses and undesirable effects generally above this level of intake in some in the treatment of some diseases, although there is substantial inter-individual variation.