Two-step hydrolysis of amygdalin in molds.

Mucor circinelloides LU M40 and Penicillium aurantiogriseum P 35, characterized by extracellular beta-glucosidase activity on cyanogenic glycosides, hydrolyse amygdalin by a two-step reaction mechanism being the first step of hydrolysis, from amygdalin to prunasin, very rapid (15 min) and the second one, from prunasin to mandelonitrile, much slower (120 min).