What Is Vitamin B17 Used For?

Vitamin B17 is a compound about which there has been a great deal of controversy over the years. While more than hundreds of years old, and used in a variety of medical treatments, B17 has been labeled as a quack cure for cancer. The debate still rages over the vitamin's effectiveness in treating one of the biggest diseases of the modern day, and thanks to the Internet, the debate isn't likely to die any time soon.

Vitamin B17

Vitamin B17 is also referred to as laetrile and amygdaline, though all three names are interchangeable as far as common usage. Vitamin B17 is commonly found in a variety of foods that contain a concentration of nitroloside. This is particularly true of foods which fall into the Prunus family, which includes bitter almonds, apricots, blackthorn cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums. Though common in fruits, vitamin B17 is also found in grasses, maize, sorghum, millet, apple seeds and other foods that are not a common part of the modern diet.

Cancer

Vitamin B17 has undergone a great deal of study as a possible cancer medication as an alternative to chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. From the 1950s to the mid-1970s, vitamin B17 was carefully studied by many scientists, and though it has support in other parts of the world (notably Mexico) as a viable cancer treatment. In America, the FDA declared that the claims of Dr. Ernst Krebbs, one of the most successful researchers on the subject of B17 and its effects on cancer, to be outright fraud and "quackery."

Enzymes

The way B17 is supposed to interact with the body, particularly with cancer cells, is a slightly complex claim, but the general idea seems sound. Within the body there is a particular enzyme called rhodanese, which is formed in large quantities, but is never present in cancer cells. On the other hand, wherever there are cancer cells, there is a separate enzyme known as Beta-glucosidase, which isn't found in the bodies of those without cancer. This observation is the key to how vitamin B17 is supposed to fight cancer.

Interaction

Vitamin B17 is made up of two parts glucose, one part hydrogen cyanide and one part benzaldehyde (an analgesic/painkiller). When B17 is ingested into the body, it is broken down by rhodanese into thiocynate and benzoic acid, which are both beneficial to healthy cells. When vitamin B17 comes into contact with cancer cells, there is no rhodanese to break it down. As such, B17 interacts with the beta-glucosidase. When this happens, the hydrogen cyanide and the benzaldehyde combine to produce a poison which seems to only target cancer cells. This is a process called selective toxicity.

Cyanide

The hydrogen cyanide in vitamin B17 most often sends up a red flag to people as a danger. This shouldn't be the case, as hydrogen cyanide has been shown to be chemically inert and nontoxic when taken as a food, or used for a pharmaceutical purpose. Additionally, the hydrogen cyanide is broken down by rhodanese within an hour, and excess is passed normally through a person's urine.