Amygdalin (vitamin B17, Laetrile)

Amygdaline also known as Laetrile or Vitamin B17 is a substance that is found naturally in the seeds of certain fruits and nuts. Vitamin B17 is known to release cyanide which is a lethal molecule. The name Vitamin B17 was given to Laetrile in the early 1970's by Kerbs jr., commercially it is extracted from the seeds of the apricot fruit which belong to the same group of prunes and almonds.

As such the body produces cyanide by metabolizing amygdaline which converted to thiocyanate both by the liver and the body muscles. The sugar molecules split up due to the bacteria in the colon with the help of enzyme beta glycosidase which are replaced by the glucuronic acid and forms glucuronic acid which is bound to benzaldehyde which is again bound to the cyanide that is produced in the body.

The two sugar molecules that amygdaline is made up off are benzaldehyde and cyanide radicals or benzaldehyde-cyanide radicals which is often termed as mandelonitrile. The work of Vitamin B17 is to help reduce the pressure of blood and the pain that is generated due to arthritis. It was isolated as an anticancer agent and used to treat cancer.

Laetrile is also an anticancer drug which is used in the treatment of cancer though this is not recommended by the FDA. The most active ingredient that is found in laetrile is cyanide and this helps in destroying the cancer cells present in the body from further spreading to other parts.

Rhodanese or sulfur transferase is an enzyme which is found in the normal body cells helps protect the body against the toxicity caused due to the presence of cyanide, this further adds a sulfur atom to the already free cyanide and this lead to a formation of thiocyanate a harmless substance in the body. As the cancerous cells do not contain significant amount of enzymes they cannot do the conversion.

Vitamin B17 is abundantly found in the seeds of almost all fruits like apple, cherries, oranges, peaches, nectarine, apricot, plums etc and the concentration of this vitamin can be around 2-3%.

Apart from the seeds of apple fruit which has a rich quantity of Vitamin B17 certain beans and grasses like wheat grass also contain vitamin B17 in them. Other sources of Vitamin B17 are millets, Lima beans, bitter almonds etc. Cereal millet and buck wheat are also rich sources of vitamin B17.

Vitamin B17 also finds its sources in macadamia nuts, bamboo shoots, mung beans, butter beans, lima beans, garden peas etc. As mentioned above almost all the fruits contain a certain concentration of vitamin B17 in them.

One other thing of advantage that vitamin B17 has over almost all other vitamins is that its concentration does not get destroyed even in spite of its being cooked. Though eating these fruits and seeds raw helps retain the best effects of vitamin B17. B-blucosidase is also included in vitamin B17 which gets destroyed when it is subjected to heat.