Vitamin B17 “was banned by the US because of its cancer-killing properties”
On 1 March 2023, a Facebook reel with more than 1.6 million views claimed that "Vitamin B17", a compound present in apricot kernels, "was banned by the U.S. because of its cancer-killing properties". "Vitamin B17" is the name that some people use to refer to amygdalin, a compound present in some plants like clover and notably in the seeds of fruits from the Rosaceae family, such as bitter almonds, apricots, plums, and cherries. [...] One well-known characteristic of amygdalin is its capacity to release hydrogen cyanide when it breaks down in the intestine[4]. Hydrogen cyanide is known as a potentially deadly poison that interferes with cells’ ability to use oxygen. This mode of action of cyanide directly contradicts the mechanism proposed by the Facebook user, who claimed that B17 kills cancer cells because it "put[s] oxygen and hydrogenate[s] cells again".