Is there such a thing as vitamin B17?

Before using promoted by advertising vitamin B17 in cancer diagnosis, ask how amygdalin, contained in the kernels of the seeds of some representatives of the family Rosaceae (pink-flowered), turned into laetrile, and then into vitamin B17.

Amygdalin

The pharmacologic epic, which became the subject of newspaper articles, books, and debates in medical circles and official bodies in the United States, began with amiglalin.

This organic chemical compound (d-mandelonitrile 6-O-β-d-glucosido-β-d-glucoside) is a derivative of almond acid nitrile (bound to the disaccharide genziobiose). It is a natural glycoside of apricot, bitter almond, plum and peach kernels, which was isolated from bitter almond (Prunus dulcis var. Amara) kernels in the 1830s by French chemists P. Robiquet and A. Boutron-Charlar. [1], [2]

Incidentally, the most amygdalin is found in the kernels of green plum seeds; followed by apricots, dark plums, peaches, cherries, apple seeds and flax seeds.

In the kernels of the seeds, amygdalin is synthesized during ripening by glycolysis of the cyanogenic glycoside mandelonitrile, a cyanohydrin (containing a carbon atom bonded to a nitrogen atom) derivative of benzoic aldehyde. Once in the human stomach, amygdalin undergoes a two-phase enzymatic hydrolysis to the original nitrile of mandelic acid (mandelonitrile) to form toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) - hydrogen cyanide or hydrocyanic acid.

Amygdalin began to be used to treat cancer early in the last century, but it became particularly popular in the 1960s and 70s as a complementary and alternative therapy for cancer patients. NCI (National Cancer Institute) sponsored in vitro studies of amygdalin on various cancer cell lines demonstrated its antitumor activity, but in vivo studies, according to a statement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the late 1970s, did not confirm this.

In addition, oral administration of amygdalin caused side effects in the form of poisoning with hydrocyanic (hydrogen cyanide) acid, which is classified as a potent toxin: once in the blood and interacting with various isoforms of the oxidative enzyme of cell mitochondrial membranes (cytochrome oxidase), it causes hypoxia (oxygen starvation) of tissues and impaired function of individual organs of entire body systems.

Poisoning is manifested by such symptoms as: headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dizziness, weakness, confusion, convulsions, cardiac arrest, circulatory and respiratory failure, coma and in extreme cases death. And among the neurological complications of cyanide poisoning are demyelination of peripheral nerves, optic neuropathy, deafness and parkinsonism syndrome.

As a result, the FDA banned the sale of amygdalin as a drug.

Laetrile

In the late 1950s begins the story of laetrile (d-mandelonitrile-β-glucuronide), a semi-synthetic derivative of apricot seed amygdalin (obtained by hydrolysis) that was patented in 1961 by Nevada native Ernst T. Krebs, Jr.

It should be noted that Krebs' (who had no medical education) ideas about cancer were based on the controversial theory put forward in the early twentieth century by the Scottish embryologist J. Bird, according to which the cause of cancer was pathologically localized growth of germ cells (trophoblasts).

Indications for the use of laetrile included oncology, and the route of administration involved intravenous administration, oral administration - in tablet form and solution for rectal administration (into the rectum).

The principle of action of laetrile, i.e. Pharmacodynamics, was seen in the fact that its hydrolysis by the enzyme beta-glucosidase releases hydrogen cyanide, causing apoptosis of cancer cells of any localization. But studies have shown that HCN can also damage healthy tissue cells.

The publicity did its job: laetrile was well received by alternative medicine advocates, and in many states the drug was authorized for use in patients with terminal cancer.

But laetrile, like amygdalin, is hydrolyzed in the duodenum and intestine to benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, causing side effects - poisoning, which is noted: fever, dizziness and headaches, decreased BP, impaired liver function, causing loss of balance and difficulty walking nerve damage.

In the same years, two FDA-approved clinical trials supported by the NCI convinced the ACS (American Cancer Society) and AMA (American Medical Association) that laetrile had no efficacy and an unreasonably high risk of side effects from cyanide poisoning (a 500 mg tablet can contain up to 25 mg of hydrocyanic acid).

A Cochrane Database of Systematic Review in 2015 noted that the claimed benefits of laetrile are not supported by controlled clinical trials.

All of this has combined to lead to a ban on the use of laetrile. It is banned from sale in Western Europe (including the UK) and Australia, although it remains available on the market and is promoted as an alternative cancer treatment.

Advertising amygdalin as an anti-cancer drug is considered a classic and one of the most lucrative examples of quackery in the medical field. And the distributors of the drug are prosecuted in the United States.

Vitamin B17

The enterprising "Dr." Krebs Jr. Sought to expand the market for his experimental drug, and during the 1950s the market did indeed grow. At the same time, the use of laetrile was monitored by the FDA. And after the 1962 amendment to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, according to which a manufacturer cannot register a new drug without scientific evidence of its efficacy (i.e. Randomized controlled trials become mandatory), Krebs wrote to the FDA that "cyanogenic glucosides are food vitamins and should not be classified as drugs".

Thus, in the 1970s, laetrile, bypassing legal restrictions, was transferred to the status of vitamins. This is how vitamin B17 appeared - as a food supplement for "cancer prevention" among perfectly healthy people. The "inventor" of the new vitamin publicly claimed that all cancers are caused by its deficiency in the diet.

Nutritional scientists note the failure of vitamin B17 to meet any of the criteria for a true vitamin. There are no biochemical processes in the body that require this substance, or lack of it in the diet, or any manifestation of its deficiency, nor could there be. And the Nomenclature Committee of the American Institute of Nutrition did not recognize the term "vitamin B-17".

Ernst T. Krebs was prosecuted by the state of California in 1971, accused of practicing medicine without a license and distributing a banned drug; the court fined him and banned him from practicing medicine in any way.

As an afterword.

The amygdalin story continues: studies in recent years and ongoing publications in specialized journals about their results show that amygdalin could potentially be useful in the fight against malignant neoplasms - as an alternative treatment - and it continues to be studied.

Vitamin B17 has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat asthma, bronchitis, colorectal cancer, emphysema, leprosy, pain and leukoderma. [3], [4] Several studies have reported that vitamin B17 has several pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cough suppressant, anti-asthmatic, anti-atherogenic, anti-cancer and anti-ulcer properties, and may inhibit or prevent fibrosis. [5] In addition, vitamin B17 from Prunus Armeniaca seeds may induce apoptosis. Vitamin B17 can inhibit the spread of liver cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and have anti-asthmatic, anti-cough, and digestive effects. [6]

For example, the cytotoxic effects of amygdalin on tumor cells can be exploited in an ACNP system - encapsulated in alginate-chitosan nanoparticles - to deliver and regulated release of this compound without harming healthy tissues.

And dumb economics. 74% of Americans over the age of 55 regularly take vitamin and mineral supplements. The revenue of the vitamin and nutritional supplement (VNS) industry in the U.S. Has grown by 6% over the past five years, to nearly $40 billion. And its average profit margin is 38%, a very profitable business. The size of the European nutritional supplements market was estimated at nearly $18 billion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of over 9%.

Also read:

• Vitamins and minerals: questions and answers
• Vitamin deficiency