Are Plant Foods Rich In Vitamin B17?

Vitamin B-17 is not a vitamin. It is a cyanide compound present in some plants such as nuts, fruits and stone-fruit pits. The Food and Drug Administration banned vitamin B-17 -- also known as amygdalin and laetrile -- in the United States in 1980. The measure followed studies that failed to prove the substance was effective against cancer and evidence that some people fell ill from cyanide intoxication after taking B-17.

B-17-rich Plant Foods

According to G. Edward Griffin, author of "World without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B17," plants high in the substance have more than 500 mg of nitriloside per 100 g. They include wild blackberries, chokecherries, wild crabapple, Swedish cranberries, fava beans, bitter almond, bamboo sprouts and cassava root. Elderberries, mung beans and macadamia nuts have over 100 mg to more than 500 mg of nitriloside per 100 g of food. These are considered medium-to-high sources of vitamin B-17. Nitriloside is yet another designation for the "vitamin." Inedible seeds from apples, apricots and cherries also contain the chemical compound. The edible food plants are not illegal. They do not seem to cause intoxication, either. The health risks of B-17 are linked to the supplements of extracted cyanide.

The Vitamin Label

Vitamins are nutrients essential for your physical and cognitive development. By this definition, B-17 is not a vitamin. According to Saralyn Williams, M.D., after you ingest amygdalin, enzymes break it down, releasing cyanide and causing intoxication. Dr. Williams, a medical toxicologist, states that someone marketing the chemical decided to call it a vitamin to bypass the control of the FDA, which doesn't regulate dietary supplements. However, the agency intervenes, as it did in 1980, when it finds evidence of false claims or harm to consumers.

Evidence Controversy

An article in the newsletter "The ACHS Reporter" of the American College of Healthcare Sciences states that in vitro research shows vitamin B-17 may have benefits. In one study, it blocked the Epstein Barr virus from inducing tumors. In another in vitro test, B-17 killed prostate cancer cells. In animal research, the substance demonstrated anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. However, the most recent human study involving cancer patients and vitamin B-17 showed no therapeutic benefits and the potential for cyanide intoxication. These results appeared in "The Journal of New England Medicine" in 1982. The report is the last widely available scientific information on the substance since the FDA ban.

Precaution

Vitamin B-17 is available on the Internet and abroad. That does not mean the product is safe. Since vitamin B-17 is illegal in the United States, a medical doctor licensed to practice in the country cannot supervise its use if you obtain the chemical elsewhere. Besides the risks the drug poses, lab analysis showed that some supplies of amygdalin injections were tainted with microbes, notes the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Some of the products also came without labels that listed recommended dosages. Do not accept B-17 and do not pass it to anyone.