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March 6, 1978, Vol 239, No. 10 >
ARTICLE | March 6, 1978

Laetrile Toxicity Studies in Dogs FREE

Eric S. Schmidt; George W. Newton; Steven M. Sanders; Jerry P. Lewis, MD; Eric E. Conn, PhD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to Section of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, 4301 X St, Sacramento, CA 95817 (Dr Lewis).


JAMA. 1978;239(10):943-947. doi:10.1001/jama.1978.03280370039021
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References

Dogs were fed laetrile and fresh, sweet almonds under various conditions. The doses of laetrile were similar to those prescribed for patients with cancer and ranged on a basis of gram to square meter from an equivalent of the oral dose for man to five times this dose. Six of the ten dogs died of cyanide poisoning. One dog recovered, and three dogs, at the time of sacrifice, demonstrated various levels of neurologic impairment, ranging from difficulty in walking to coma. These studies demonstrate that oral laetrile is highly toxic when taken with some common table foods. We predict that there will be an increased incidence of cyanide poisoning in man as laetrile becomes more readily available.

(JAMA 239:943-947, 1978)

REFERENCES

1 +
Conn EE:  Biosynthesis of cyanogenic glycosides . Biochem Soc Symp 38:277-302, 1973;.
2 +
Lewis JP:  Laetrile . West J Med 127:55-62, 1977;.
3 +
Griffin GE: World Without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B17 . Thousand Oaks, Calif, American Media, 1974;.
4 +
Haisman DR, Knight DJ:  The enzymic hydrolysis of amygdalin . Biochem J 103:528-534, 1967;.
5 +
Conn EE: Cyanogenetic glycosides, in Toxicants Occurring Naturally in Foods , ed 2. Washington, DC, National Academy of Sciences, 1973;, pp 299-308.
6 +
Ng SJ: A Comparative Study of the Enzymic Hydrolysis of Cyanogenic Glycosides, thesis. University of California, Davis, 1975.
7 +
DiPalma JR: Drill's Pharmacology in Medicine , ed 4. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co Inc, 1971;, pp 1189-1194.
8 +
Thienes CH, Haley TJ: Clinical Toxicology , ed 5. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 1972;, pp 144, 203-206.
9 +
Gosselin RE, Gleason MN, Hodge HC: Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products: Acute Poisoning , ed 4. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins Co, 1976;, pp 105-112.
10 +
Von Oettingen WF: Poisoning: A Guide to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment . New York, Paul B Hoeber Inc, Medical Book Department of Harper & Bros, 1954;, pp 321-322.
11 +
Wexler J, Whittenberger JL, Dumke PR:  The effect of cyanide on the electrocardiogram of man . Am Heart J 34:163-173, 1947;.
12 +
Suzuki T:  Ultrastructural changes of heart muscle in cyanide poisoning . Tohoku J Exp Med 95:271-287, 1968;.
13 +
Humbert JR, Tress JH, Braico KT:  Fatal cyanide poisoning. Accidental ingestion of amygdalin . JAMA 238:482, 1977;.
14 +
Sadoff L, Fuchs K, Hollander J:  Rapid death associated with laetrile ingestion . JAMA , to be published.
15 +
Smith FP, Butler TP, Cohan S, et al:  Laetrile toxicity: A report of two cases . JAMA 238:1361, 1977;.
16 +
Krebs ET Jr:  The nitrilosides (vitamin B-17): Their nature, occurrence and metabolic significance: Antineoplastics vitamin B-17 . J Appl Nutr 22:75-86, 1970;.
17 +
Osuntokun BO:  An ataxic neuropathy in Nigeria . Brain 91:215-248, 1968;.
18 +
 Laetrile, Commissioner's decision on status, part 2 . Federal Register 42:39780 ( (Aug 5) ) 1977;.

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1 +
Conn EE:  Biosynthesis of cyanogenic glycosides . Biochem Soc Symp 38:277-302, 1973;.
2 +
Lewis JP:  Laetrile . West J Med 127:55-62, 1977;.
3 +
Griffin GE: World Without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B17 . Thousand Oaks, Calif, American Media, 1974;.
4 +
Haisman DR, Knight DJ:  The enzymic hydrolysis of amygdalin . Biochem J 103:528-534, 1967;.
5 +
Conn EE: Cyanogenetic glycosides, in Toxicants Occurring Naturally in Foods , ed 2. Washington, DC, National Academy of Sciences, 1973;, pp 299-308.
6 +
Ng SJ: A Comparative Study of the Enzymic Hydrolysis of Cyanogenic Glycosides, thesis. University of California, Davis, 1975.
7 +
DiPalma JR: Drill's Pharmacology in Medicine , ed 4. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co Inc, 1971;, pp 1189-1194.
8 +
Thienes CH, Haley TJ: Clinical Toxicology , ed 5. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 1972;, pp 144, 203-206.
9 +
Gosselin RE, Gleason MN, Hodge HC: Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products: Acute Poisoning , ed 4. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins Co, 1976;, pp 105-112.
10 +
Von Oettingen WF: Poisoning: A Guide to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment . New York, Paul B Hoeber Inc, Medical Book Department of Harper & Bros, 1954;, pp 321-322.
11 +
Wexler J, Whittenberger JL, Dumke PR:  The effect of cyanide on the electrocardiogram of man . Am Heart J 34:163-173, 1947;.
12 +
Suzuki T:  Ultrastructural changes of heart muscle in cyanide poisoning . Tohoku J Exp Med 95:271-287, 1968;.
13 +
Humbert JR, Tress JH, Braico KT:  Fatal cyanide poisoning. Accidental ingestion of amygdalin . JAMA 238:482, 1977;.
14 +
Sadoff L, Fuchs K, Hollander J:  Rapid death associated with laetrile ingestion . JAMA , to be published.
15 +
Smith FP, Butler TP, Cohan S, et al:  Laetrile toxicity: A report of two cases . JAMA 238:1361, 1977;.
16 +
Krebs ET Jr:  The nitrilosides (vitamin B-17): Their nature, occurrence and metabolic significance: Antineoplastics vitamin B-17 . J Appl Nutr 22:75-86, 1970;.
17 +
Osuntokun BO:  An ataxic neuropathy in Nigeria . Brain 91:215-248, 1968;.
18 +
 Laetrile, Commissioner's decision on status, part 2 . Federal Register 42:39780 ( (Aug 5) ) 1977;.

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