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The interest in amygdalin, also known as vitamin B17, comes from the belief that it has miraculous properties in the treatment of cancer, which has not been supported by scientific research.
Amygdalin is an organic glycoside found in the seeds of many plants. The most abundant amygdalin are in the seeds of almond, quince, bird cherry, apricot, cherries, plums and peaches. The seeds of these plants have a characteristic bitter taste and specific aroma.
Amygdalin was first isolated from bitter almonds in 1830 by French chemists Pierre-Jean Robiquet and Antoine Francois Boutron-Charlard. A characteristic feature of amygdalin is that in the body it is broken down into glucose, benzaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, also known as p acid.
First reports of amygdalin
The increase in the popularity of amygdalin, or vitamin B17, contributed in the 20s to Dr. Ernst Theodore Krebs, Sr. It was he who announced that it could be an effective drug in the fight against cancer. However, he noted that the substance is too toxic to be used in humans. Work on the usefulness of amygdalin was continued by the scientist’s son, bearing the same names. Bearing in mind his father’s warning about the toxicity of the substance, he developed a derivative that was supposed to be less harmful. He called it Laetrile, but natural amygdalin remained the basic ingredient of the preparation. Another substance was created from the combination of amygdalin and its modified form, which was called vitamin B17. However, this substance is not classified as a vitamin and it does not deserve that name.
Amygdalin – a poisonous vitamin
It is not surprising that terminally ill people embrace any way they can win over disease, such as vitamin B17 treatment. Often, in favor of alternative or natural treatment, they reject proven methods of fighting cancer.
In the case of amygdalin, no clinical studies have confirmed its anti-cancer effect. It was not found to have an effect on the shrinkage of tumors, extension of survival time or improvement in the quality of life of patients. Years ago, on the basis of amygdalin, the aforementioned Laetrile preparation was produced, which is a synthetic derivative of amygdalin – mandelic nitrile glucuronide. But the drug was withdrawn from the market. This was the decision of the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which in the justification of its decision emphasized that there is no evidence of the effectiveness of the preparation, and there is a high risk of cyanide poisoning, especially when the patient takes vitamin C at the same time.
Krebs believed that neoplastic diseases resulted from the deficiency or lack of amygdalin in the human body. Amygdalin was expected to work by breaking down the cyanogenic glycoside to hydrogen cyanide by beta glycosidase, which was expected to kill cancer cells. Amygdalin was supposed to come from natural sources, e.g. from fruit. One of the rules of its intake was to eat, for example, whole apples, including seeds, one apricot with a kernel, etc. It was not allowed to exceed the dose of vitamin B17 contained in one fruit. But on the other hand, it was assumed that the portion of amygdalin should be adjusted to the patient’s body weight – one apricot or peach kernel per 4,5 kg of body weight.
The usefulness of amygdalin in the fight against neoplastic diseases has been repeatedly verified by various independent researchers. Its miraculous effect has not been confirmed. However, it did not reduce the interest in this substance. She is still wanted. Perhaps the underlying cause of this phenomenon is the fact that amygdalin was called a vitamin, and these are, after all, healthy.
Not only B17
Every now and then the world circulates information about miraculous herbs or methods that, unlike conventional medicine, evidence-based medicine, deal with any type of cancer. Hair stands on the head when you read the descriptions of these methods. And although it is understandable that the patient considers every eventuality to save his life, it is difficult to understand that in the XNUMXst century you can believe in the miraculous power of chickpeas, fruit juice or chili peppers. Here are some examples.
Chickpea Filling – Also known as the NIA method or the method of George Ashkar, a doctor of physics, who practiced the method he invented on himself and his mother. Ashkar assumed that the body has the ability to store all the factors that increase the risk of cancer (carcinogens) in one place and expel them through an artificially created wound. But for the method to work, there must be chickpeas in the wound, which will contain everything that can not only cause cancer, but also abnormal cells already present in the body, i.e. cancer cells. Beans need to be replaced frequently for treatment to be effective. Ashkar was sentenced to a heavy fine for practicing his method in the USA. The court also forbade him to practice further. Ashkar did not reconsider the extraordinary power of chickpeas. He also claims that she cured him of pancreatic cancer, despite the fact that doctors did not give him great chances for a long life. However, the oncologists who looked after the man and performed the operation believe that the treatment was the cure, not the chickpea seed.
Drinking four liters of fruit juice a day is the idea of Max Gerson, who in this way deals with toxins and carcinogens in the body. The method of rinsing out all health-endangering compounds with juice was developed and popularized in the 30s and 40s. The idea was that a low-sodium vegetable and fruit diet, drinking a lot of juices and coffee enemas would heal everyone, because they would be healed in a natural way. all cancer cells removed from the body. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Putting hands or other parts of the body to the head (BSM method) is supposed to heal by restoring the internal balance of the body. Healing hands are supposed to be the solution to all human health problems, including those related to cancer. The BSM method was invented by Eugeniusz Uchnast – a retired colonel of the Polish Army from Warsaw, a lawyer and historian by education – by accident during observations made on his own in 1974. The author of the method, according to his own report, was to heal himself of the persistent pain in his left hip in this way and knees. After Uchnast’s death, Piotr Lewandowski began to popularize the method. He has registered the BSM trademark and anyone who will comment on the method may be sued. So that’s all about it.
Chili peppers, and more precisely the capsaicin contained in them, is supposed to affect apoptosis, i.e. cell death, including cancer cells. Unfortunately, no reliable scientific studies have confirmed this action of the substance. In addition, so far not a single drug containing capsaicin has been developed and has been tested, described and used in medicine.
Noni juice, colloidal silver, Ukrain, Vilcacora, the preparation of prof. Tołpy or Tian Xian are also preparations that are supposed to have a miraculous anti-cancer effect. However, there is no evidence that they have such properties. Their action is compared to that of a placebo. However, taking some of them can be dangerous to health and life, as reported by the FDA. In its statement, the Agency does not recognize, for example, colloidal silver as a safe and effective substance in the treatment of any disease. He also warns that the use of colloidal silver can lead to silvery disease, a disease involving gray discoloration of the skin.
It is similar with other preparations. You can buy everything on the Internet – even drugs (Ukrain), which have been refused registration and marketing authorization in the EU several times. Unfortunately, this is not a sufficient argument for naive buyers. They believe aggressive advertising more than doctors’ opinions.