Cycas revoluta
Sago
### Sago

The [pith](/wiki/Pith "Pith") contains edible [starch](/wiki/Starch "Starch"), and is used for making [sago](/wiki/Sago "Sago"). Before use, the starch must be carefully washed to leach out [toxins](/wiki/Toxin "Toxin") contained in the pith. Extracting edible starch from the sago cycad requires special care due to the poisonous nature of cycads. Cycad sago is used for many of the same purposes as palm sago. Sago is extracted from the sago cycad by cutting the pith from the stem, root and seeds of the cycads, grinding the pith to a coarse flour and then washing it carefully and repeatedly to leach out the natural toxins. The starchy residue is then dried and cooked, producing a starch similar to palm sago/sabudana. The cycad seed contains cycasin toxin and should not be eaten as it is possible for [cycasin](/wiki/Cycasin "Cycasin") toxin to survive the most vigorous of repeated washings. Cycasin toxin can cause [ALS](/wiki/ALS "ALS"), [Parkinson's](/wiki/Parkinson%27s "Parkinson's"), [prostate cancer](/wiki/Prostate_cancer "Prostate cancer") and [fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma](/wiki/Fibrolamellar_hepatocellular_carcinoma "Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma").

*[Aulacaspis yasumatsui](/wiki/Aulacaspis_yasumatsui "Aulacaspis yasumatsui")* is a scale insect feeding on *C. revoluta*, and unchecked is able to destroy the plant.Aulacaspis yasumatsui (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Diaspididae), a Scale Insect Pest of Cycads Recently Introduced into Florida. Forrest W. Howard, Avas Hamon, Michael Mclaughlin, Thomas Weissling and Si\-lin Yang, The Florida Entomologist, March 1999, Vol. 82, No. 1, pages 14\-27 ([article](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3495833))


Is it safe to eat the seeds of the cycad?