Asked November 01, 2019, 4:06 PM EDT
Hi, I am working on some herb blends and need some guidance. Thanks for having this service. I have developed an incredible herb blend that includes lavender and elderberries (along with thyme, marjoram, and some other herbs). I know that there are concerns with toxins associated with elderberries. I have been trying to find out more online and cannot find the answer to this question. I am using dried elderberries. I am presuming, but do not know for a fact, that even though they have been dried there still may be concerns of toxins. I have read that it is possible to address the concerns of the toxins simply by cooking. What I have not been able to find out is any specifics on such required cooking. I did read someplace that dried elderberries could be used in pancakes. That is not much cooking, and this might not have been a qualified information source. In my first experiment (that resulted in a tasty blend), I pan-roasted the elderberries for about 15 minutes. I have not experienced any negative side effects. I was thinking of doing oven roasting. I need some guidance on what temperature they need to be heated to and how long they need to be maintained at this temperature to get rid of the toxins. If you could provide me with some insight, I would be very grateful. Thanks in advance. Blessings.Nancy
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Great question. First of all,cooked, fully ripe elderberries are safe to eat.Fully ripe berries are purplish-black and the juice should be bright red. There are some people that have reported to have nausea from eating raw, ripe elderberries.It is dangerous to eat unripe elderberries as well as any other parts of the plant (stems, leaves, bark, etc); however, most
Raw, unripe elderberries and other parts of the elderberry plant (stems, leaves, bark, etc) contain some compounds that can become poisonous.These potentially dangerous compounds are present in the plant as cyanogenic glycosides. Most stone fruits have these compounds in their pits/seeds. Elderberry parts contain a cyanogenic glycoside called sambunigrin. The bacteria in your digestive tract (and bacteria used for wine fermentation) can metabolize this compound and release free hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide binds up oxygen in your bloodstream and prevents it from being released to your cells. Assuming you are healthy, your liver is capable of handling small amount of cyanide with no adverse effects.If the cyanide dose is too high, then you will develop the symptoms of cyanide poisoning: nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and weakness. If not treated and the dose is high, then people can asphyxiate and could die. This sounds very scary (and it is), but only if you are lazy with handling and preparing your fruit.There have been elderberry poisonings, but they have been traced back to the presence of other plant material (leaves) in the product (juice, tea) or that the berries were not ripe.
For anything that you make with elderberries, only use the ripe berries.If you are making anything where you need to crush them (e.g., jam, syrup, juice), make sure that you remove all of the stems, leaves, and any unripe berries before pressing them. Same is true if you are making wine.You can’t be lazy with this –only fully ripe berries should be processed or eaten.Fresh elderberries are very perishable and the quality will deteriorate quickly.Therefore, they are usually refrigerated, frozen, or processed immediately after harvest.
Various processing methods have been demonstrated to significantly reduce cyanogenic glycosides in a variety of different produce.Most of this research has been done on cassava since it is the most important food crop with the highest levels of cyanogenic glycosides. The chemistry of these compounds is similar in all plants, so the effect of the processing method should be similarly effective in different types of plants.
Peeling, grinding, soaking, boiling/cooking, soaking, and fermentation can be effective to reduce the risk. These processes typically breakdown the cyanogenic glycoside (sambunigrin, in the case of elderberry) which leads to the production of cyanide.Cyanide is very volatile (evaporates at slightly above room temperature), so drying or roasting would effectively remove any low levels of poison from the berries.
It sounds as though you are buying elderberries that have been commercially dried.Commercial drying is typically performed in a range of 120-140°F for many hours.Assuming that the processor only processed ripe berries and that they dried them under these conditions, the risk of any residual cyanide is very low.If you choose to roast them yourself when you make your herbal blend, then are providing even another layer of safety.
For more information, the University of Vermont has an extensive publication about many facets of elderberry production, harvesting, and processing:https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/media/ElderberryGuideComplete.pdf
Hope this helps!Please let me know if you have more questions.
Joy
Joy Waite-Cusic Replied November 10, 2019, 9:46 PM EST
Great question. First of all,cooked, fully ripe elderberries are safe to eat.Fully ripe berries are purplish-black and the juice should be bright red. There are some people that have reported to have nausea from eating raw, ripe elderberries.It is dangerous to eat unripe elderberries as well as any other parts of the plant (stems, leaves, bark, etc); however, most
Raw, unripe elderberries and other parts of the elderberry plant (stems, leaves, bark, etc) contain some compounds that can become poisonous.These potentially dangerous compounds are present in the plant as cyanogenic glycosides. Most stone fruits have these compounds in their pits/seeds. Elderberry parts contain a cyanogenic glycoside called sambunigrin. The bacteria in your digestive tract (and bacteria used for wine fermentation) can metabolize this compound and release free hydrogen cyanide. Cyanide binds up oxygen in your bloodstream and prevents it from being released to your cells. Assuming you are healthy, your liver is capable of handling small amount of cyanide with no adverse effects.If the cyanide dose is too high, then you will develop the symptoms of cyanide poisoning: nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and weakness. If not treated and the dose is high, then people can asphyxiate and could die. This sounds very scary (and it is), but only if you are lazy with handling and preparing your fruit.There have been elderberry poisonings, but they have been traced back to the presence of other plant material (leaves) in the product (juice, tea) or that the berries were not ripe.
For anything that you make with elderberries, only use the ripe berries.If you are making anything where you need to crush them (e.g., jam, syrup, juice), make sure that you remove all of the stems, leaves, and any unripe berries before pressing them. Same is true if you are making wine.You can’t be lazy with this –only fully ripe berries should be processed or eaten.Fresh elderberries are very perishable and the quality will deteriorate quickly.Therefore, they are usually refrigerated, frozen, or processed immediately after harvest.
Various processing methods have been demonstrated to significantly reduce cyanogenic glycosides in a variety of different produce.Most of this research has been done on cassava since it is the most important food crop with the highest levels of cyanogenic glycosides. The chemistry of these compounds is similar in all plants, so the effect of the processing method should be similarly effective in different types of plants.
Peeling, grinding, soaking, boiling/cooking, soaking, and fermentation can be effective to reduce the risk. These processes typically breakdown the cyanogenic glycoside (sambunigrin, in the case of elderberry) which leads to the production of cyanide.Cyanide is very volatile (evaporates at slightly above room temperature), so drying or roasting would effectively remove any low levels of poison from the berries.
It sounds as though you are buying elderberries that have been commercially dried.Commercial drying is typically performed in a range of 120-140°F for many hours.Assuming that the processor only processed ripe berries and that they dried them under these conditions, the risk of any residual cyanide is very low.If you choose to roast them yourself when you make your herbal blend, then are providing even another layer of safety.
For more information, the University of Vermont has an extensive publication about many facets of elderberry production, harvesting, and processing:https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/media/ElderberryGuideComplete.pdf
Hope this helps!Please let me know if you have more questions.
Joy
Joy Waite-Cusic Replied November 10, 2019, 9:46 PM EST
