About Vitamin B-17

Initially isolated and identified in 1830 as amygdalin and called vitamin B-17 by proponents, this substance, according to scientific consensus, is really not a vitamin at all. Amygdalin was marketed in the 1970s as laetrile, touted as a nutritional supplement and a cure for cancer. According to the University of Minnesota's Irving Lerner, laetrile was one of the most profitable and fraudulent promotions in medical history.

Significance

While the chemical process of isolating and extracting laetrile is complex, the substance originates from crushed apricot pits. Ernst T. Krebs Jr. theorized that cancer was simply a vitamin deficiency and that laetrile was the missing vitamin -- vitamin B-17. Krebs' father, Dr. Ernst Krebs Sr., had determined in the 1920s that laetrile was too dangerous for human consumption, realizing that it was 6 percent cyanide by weight. However, he later joined his son in promoting the substance. In hopes of bypassing U.S. Food and Drug Administration rulings on the marketing of drugs, Krebs Jr. marketed vitamin B-17 in the 1970s as a nutritional supplement to cure cancer, with considerable financial success.

Warnings

Amygdalin, or laetrile, is toxic to humans because it produces hydrogen cyanide when metabolized. According to "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," even eating apricot pits can be highly toxic. Enzymes that facilitate the release of cyanide from laetrile already exist in the human intestines, so adding more can be deadly. According to "The New England Journal of Medicine," taking laetrile can cause cyanide poisoning and death.

Clinical Studies

In 1972, studies conducted by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center proved laetrile ineffective in treating or reducing cancerous tumors in laboratory animals. According to "The New England Journal of Medicine," a second study conducted in 1982 on humans again proved that laetrile was ineffective in treating or curing cancer. Several patients involved in the study experienced symptoms of cyanide poisoning.

Controversy

While laetrile supporters have claimed that banning laetrile is a conspiracy of several United States institutions, including the FDA, medical research has indicated that it is toxic and does not treat or cure cancer.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to warn against laetrile. In September 2010, according to ABC News, it announced to consumers that a judge had issued a preliminary injunction against three companies to stop them from selling it over the Internet.