Vitamin B17 is a natural substance which is known for its anti-cancer properties. It is contained in various grains, nuts, and seeds and has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, or regenerative properties.
In this blog, I will go through the following topics: What is vitamin B17, a brief overview of cancer, vitamin B17 as a cancer therapy, why it’s banned in several countries, and the cyanide toxicity associated with it.
Let’s get started:
What is vitamin B17 made of ?
Amygdalin is composed of two glucose molecules, a cyanide and benzaldehyde molecule. The cyanide locked in amygdalin compound causes no harm unless it is released and broken down by an enzyme, β-glucosidase.
What are the sources of vitamin B17?
Small quantities of vitamin B17 are present in the following foods:
- Seeds of fruit: Apricot, apple, cherry, nectarine, peach, pear, plum seeds contain abundant vitamin B17.
- Beans: Burma, sprouted lentils, lima, mung (spruted), rangoon
- Nuts and seeds: Bitter almond, macadamia, chia, flax, sesame. Bitter almonds contains the highest concentration of vitamin B17.
- Berries: Almost all wild berries such as blackberry, chokeberry, christmas berry, cranberry, elderberry, raspberry, and strawberry contains vitamin B17.
- Grasses: acacia, alfalfa (spruted), wheat grass, white dover.
- Grains: The endosperm in whole grains such as oat , barley, brown rice, buckwheat groats, millet, sorghum, rye, wheat contains vitamin B17 along with other B vitamins. The industrial processing to make cereals, pasta and white flour removes the water soluble B-vitamins.
What foods contain the most vitamin b17?
Bitter almonds, apricot, and plum seeds contain relatively higher concentration of vitamin B17.
Apricot kernels used in Tunisian cuisines
In many areas in Tunisia, milled apricot seeds are widely used to enhance the flavor of pastries and cakes. Also, traditional orgeat syrup (almond syrup) is a common and popular condiment prepared from bitter almonds. It is a significant player in the classic cocktail – Mai Tai and added to confectionaries to add a nutty flavor.
What are the different types of B17?
There are two primary forms of vitamin B17: natural and synthetic.
- Amygdalin is the natural form of vitamin B17 found in nuts, fruits, and seeds such as bitter almonds, apples, and plum kernels.
- Laetrile is a synthetic analog of amygdalin and is also available in the injectable form.
History of Vitamin B17 and why it is banned?
Two French chemists discovered vitamin B17 or amygdalin from bitter almonds in 1837. From 1845 to 1920, Russia, Germany, and the United States tested it as a cancer treatment, but it was renounced due to cyanide toxicity. In 1950, laetrile, a synthetic form of amygdalin, was introduced in an injectable form for cancer treatment.
Later on, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disapproved vitamin B17 for cancer treatement based on the report presented by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) claiming that amygdalin has failed to fulfill the US Pharmaceutical Safety Guidelines.
Regardless, in the 1970’s, amygdalin gained popularity among 70,000 American cancer patients as a complementary and alternative therapy. In the 1980’s, twenty-three US states legalized it for terminally ill cancer patients. The import of amygdalin was outlawed in the US and Mexico in 1987. However, Mexico still produced laetrile for cancer therapy. Moreover, the United Kingdom banned it due to cyanide toxicity.
The sale, supply and use of amygdalin (including apricot seeds) is also prohibited in Australia (Schedule 10) because of its conversion to hydrogen cyanide within the gut wall.
A brief understanding of what cancer is and the chemistry behind it
Cancer cells are mutated, damaged cells that have lost their normal function, divide rapidly, and make copies of damaged immature cells. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell and is damaged in cancer cells. The mitochondria uses oxygen to produce energy. When the mitochondria is damaged, the cell goes into fermentation mode (produce energy without oxygen), where it ferments glucose to produce energy.
The damage induced by radiation exposure and ingested toxins inhibit apoptosis (programmed cell death of the cells) and allows cancer cells to thrive.
Apoptosis is a mechanism built in our cells that causes the death of damaged or cancerous cells. The activation of apoptotic genes induces death in damaged cells, and the inhibition of these genes allows damaged cells to survive, multiply, and produce mutated and faulty cells.
Cancer cells are formed when the body is deprived of nutrition and cannot repair the damage caused by the toxins. We need antioxidants to repair the damaged cells and induce apoptosis in cells beyond repair. The function of killer cells (the body’s defense force), known as CD8 and natural killer cells, is also critical in removing the damaged cancerous cells from the body.
Does vitamin b17 cure cancer?
There are several pieces of evidence to support the idea that Vitamin B17 can exert anticancer effects against lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, cervical, and gastrointestinal cancers.
Amygdalin containing natural food sources are considered an effective remedy for cancer in alternative and traditional medicine for centuries. There is a limited clinical evidence available that shows its success as an anticancer therapy in allopathic medicine. Several lab (in vitro – outside the body) and animal studies show promising results of amygdalin extract in inhibiting and killing cancer cells; however, clinical trials show a few cases of cyanide toxicity in humans. Moreover, a bunch of anecdotal evidence (individual cases) supports it.
Inconsistent results in Vitamin B17 treatment trials may be due to differences in clinical design such as dose, use of synthetic vs natural extract, injection method, and lack of phase III and IV trials.
A few lab and animal studies have explored its effectiveness against lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, cervical, and gastrointestinal cancers.
Also, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t approve the medicinal use of Amygdalin for the co-treatment of cancer in the United States because of insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of amygdalin and the potential risk of cyanide poisoning.
What does vitamin B17 do to your body?
Lab studies suggest that vitamin B17 inhibits tumor growth by three mechanisms:
- Up-regulates the genes that allow apoptosis and down-regulates the anti-apoptotic genes and thus detox and eliminate the nasty, damaged cells from the body
- Blocks the cell cycle
- Stops cancer cell adhesion and invasion to other tissues.
The effect of amygdalin is dose-dependent. At a lower concentration, it reduces the migration and invasion of cancer cells and thus reduces cancer spread to other organs, inhibits tumor growth, and reduces tumor clones.
Amygdalin is a cyanogenic compound and contains locked cyanide. It releases hydrogen cyanide (HCN), benzaldehyde, and two glucose molecules when activated by an enzyme, β-glucosidase. The chewing releases small quantities of β-glucosidase from nuts and seeds and starts their metabolism in the mouth. In the small intestine, the β-glucosidase present in gut bacteria (bacteroids) activates cyanide that’s absorbed in the blood and is taken to the target organ through circulation.
Some amygdalin is directly absorbed in the circulation, some in the form of mandelonitrile and pranazine derivatives that are later broken down to hydrogen cyanide and the remaining as hydrogen cyanide.
The cancer cells contain substantial quantities of β-glucosidase (3000x than healthy cells) that unlocks cyanide from amygdalin and causes cell death. Also, the activated cyanide enters the cell and arrests its cycle. On the other hand, healthy cells contain significant levels of rhodanese, an enzyme that binds to sulfur centers on the cell membrane and converts free cyanide into harmless thiocyanate. That’s how healthy cells protect themselves from cyanide toxicity.
The thiocyanate produced by healthy cells lowers blood pressure and is also used to make vitamin B12 in the liver. The healthy cells converts benzaldehyde released from amygdalin to benzoic acid in the presence of oxygen; benzoic acid relieves pain and lowers fever.
Cyanide poisioning from vitamin B17?
Vitamin B17 interacts with other supplements. The simultaneous consumption of vitamin B17 with other supplements either increases or decreases its toxic side effects. For instance, its consumption of vitamin C increases the risk of cyanide toxicity. On the contrary, amygdalin taken with metformin or zinc is more effective in killing gastrointestinal cancers. Therefore, it’s best to avoid it with other supplements without professional supervision.
There are greater chances of cyanide poisoning when vitamin B17 is taken by mouth because a few intestinal bacteria (such as Bacteroides) contain beta-glucosidases that activate the release of cyanide after its ingestion. The inject vitamin B17 bypasses the gut and is broken down to cyanide in the target tissues and is, therefore, associated with less cyanide toxicity.
It is also essential to consider that not all cases of amygdalin ingestion are associated with cyanide toxicity, even with high doses. Factors such as diet (the content of fiber or probiotics consumed), bacterial colonies, and age alter the gut micro-environment and are plausible reasons for the toxic side effects. It has also been seen that cancer patients seeking alternative therapies don’t develop cyanide toxicity even at 3 gm amygdalin ingestion by mouth.
This field is evolving, and we are still not sure why some get toxic side effects, and others don’t and how amygdalin enters the blood without being hydrolyzed into poisonous cyanide.
Lastly, check on yourself if you consume large quantities of bitter almonds or apricot seeds. The symptoms of cyanide toxicity include increased heart rate, confusion, nausea, headache, and, more severely, muscle and nerve damage, bluish skin due to lack of oxygen, coma, and fits.
Antioxidant potential of apricot and wild almonds
An article published in the Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology in March 2019 demonstrated numerous antioxidant properties of wild almonds grown in Iran. The flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and minerals (Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Manganese, and Iron) in wild almonds have a high antioxidant potential and are contained in higher concentrations than domestic almonds. Wild almonds also have a higher percentage of amygdalin (6-7%) than domestic sweet almonds (1%). The flavonoids and phenolic compounds in almonds stop copper-induced oxidation of LDL cholesterol and free-radical-induced DNA scission (cutting of DNA stands).
Food Bioscience published an article in February 2023 documenting that Apricot seeds and their oil contain fatty acid, proteins, tocopherols, terpenoids, and polyphenolic compounds (anthocyanin, phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids) with potent antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory potential.
How much amygdalin is there in one apricot kernel?
The content of amygdalin and antioxidants differs among the three types of apricot seeds: sweet, semi-sweet, and bitter. The apricot seeds contain 3-4% amygdalin (by weight). One gram apricot kernel has roughly 20–80 μmol of amygdalin, the bitter varieties contain 0.05gm per apricot (5.5gm /100gms), and the sweet ones have barely any of it. Also, the bitter seeds also contain two potent antioxidants, 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethlybenzothaizoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazy, that scavenge free radicals.
Apricot seeds has been consumed for centuries in China and Himalayian dwellers who are known for their longevity and remarkable health.
How many apricot seeds should I eat a day?
A pharmacological and toxicological review on amygdalin published in May 2020 suggests that you can safely take up to 0.6-1gm amygdalin per day without any side effects. One gram of bitter apricot seed or almond contains around 0.05gm amygdalin. So, you can consume 7-10 seeds daily, but it’s best to consult your functional medicine doctor or naturopath. Ensure excessive consumption can be toxic and can cause cyanide toxicity.
Almonds and apricot seeds contain other antioxidant and cancer-fighting substances, so it’s best to consume them as they exist in nature rather than amygdalin supplements. Also, consider taking the seeds in moderation as a part of an anti-cancer diet rather than relying solely on them for cancer healing. Always consume it on the recommendation of a certified functional medicine doctor or naturopath.
Moreover, gut bacteria have a vital role in cyanide toxicity, and the consumption of probiotics containing lactobacillus and bifidobacterium offers some protection against cyanide toxicity as harmful compounds are absorbed and bound to these helpful bacteria.
How much amygdalin is fatal?
Be mindfull of before consuming bitter almonds, as consumption of 50 bitter almonds in a short time can be a lethal dose for an adult and a dose of 5–10 bitter almonds can be fatal for a kid. The adult lethal dose of amygdalin is estimated to be 0.5–3.5 mg/kg body weight.
Australian data on self-administration of Vitamin B17 and its side effects
A study published in the Emergency Medical Australasia (EMA) journal in May 2024 reviewed the data from the calls received to Poison Information Centre (PIC), New South Wales (NSW), Australia, between 2015 and 2022.
One hundred twenty (120) unique vitamin B17 exposure calls were made to PIC, NSW, from 2015 to 2022. Among them, 82 subjects (68%) had a minor exposure, whereas 38 individuals (32%) were transferred to the hospital.
The subjects with minor exposure accidentally ate apricot seeds, thinking it was an almond or took amygdalin as an alternate cancer therapy after getting info on the internet or from a health food store. They either experienced no symptoms or had mild nausea.
The hospital referrals were cancer patients who deliberately ate excessive apricots, berries or vitamin B17 tablets for cancer cure. The hospitalized patients typically suffered nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, chest tightness, light-headedness, and palpitations.
Final throughts and conclusion
The oral intake of amygdalin/vitamin B17/laetrile as a part of cancer therapy is a controversial subject. According to various peer-reviewed medical literature, intake of vitamin B17 through the mouth can be very toxic.
On the flip side, functional and alternative medicine recommend its use based on the wisdom of our ancestors (Egyptian Pharaohs and Chinese people 2,500 years used the derivatives of bitter almonds) and the observation based on the lifestyle of some healthy communities (the people of Hunza valley in Pakistan). Much anecdotal evidence supports its use, but it lacks scientific evidence.