North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

I recently received some loquat seeds.  Before I planted them, I happen to
smell them and found them to have a strong sweet smell like almond extact or
apricot kernel oil.    I found a number of warnings on the Internet saying
not to eat the seeds due to hydrogen cyanide in them.  But I also found this
recipe for loquat seed liqueur.
http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/loquatse.htm

Bitter almond oil contains benzaldehyde (almond extract flavoring) and
hydrocyanic acid (poison) and is present in the seeds of a number of fruits
in the rose family.  When making almond extract for flavoring, the cyanide
component is precipitated out of solution by addition of hydrous ferrous
sulfate, followed by distillation.  Heat is another way of making the oil
safe to eat.  Does anyone know know about the toxicity of loquat seeds.  I
would think making a liqueur as described would be unsafe.
-Mark Lee