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RE: [RC] cyanide in flax seed?? - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.This months issue of Horse Journal has a reply to a letter regarding the effect of grinding or presoaking flax seed causing the formation of cyanide. They do also comment that it "has been determined that flax seed can be included in the diet of people up to 10 to 12% of their total food intake before any concern arises about possible toxicity." Is it safe to assume a comparable percentage would apply to horses? Anyone know if this is a cumulative effect? or.............is it all hogwash? Thanks! nikki in CA (currently feeding a cup or so of ground flax/day.......) Mostly hogwash, with a tiny little nugget of truth. Yes, flax seed contains cyanogenic compounds, which in large amounts (we're talking pounds and pounds and pounds) could cause a measurable (though not necessarily clinically significant) amount of cyanide. BUT---*only* if the species consuming the flax seed also produces the appropriate enzyme to quickly break down the cyanogenic compounds into cyanide. Sheep and cows do...horses DON'T. Dunno if humans do or not, I doubt it. So long before you could feed a horse enough flax seed in any form to create measurable cyanide, the linseed oil content (a powerful cathartic) would have caused a blowout diarrhea to very colorfully paint the walls behind the horse and give you a subtle hint that you may be feeding a wee bit too much. All the uproar over cyanide in flax seed mostly originated decades ago from pretty much a single case of cyanide poisoning in cattle. A load of hungry cattle were offloaded into a feedlot and inadvertently fed a huge amount of linseed cake---the byproduct left over after flax seed has had its oil content removed. It was all the cattle had to eat, they scoffed the lot, had the appropriate enzymes in their rumen to break it all down and hey presto, cyanide poisoning. Hard on the cattle at the time (caused a few deaths, and a lot of cows lying around panting for awhile), but a bit much of an overreaction to label flax seed in general as a cyanide threat to every other species with entirely different digestive systems. One cup of ground flax seed a day is just fine, and WAAAAY below an upper limit. I know of numerous horses getting several pounds a day, have been for several years, and doing very well. JME Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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