Amygdalin has a molecular formula of C20H27NO11 and a molar mass of 457.42g1. Carbons are represented in the molecular structure by intersections or points in the drawn lines, and Hydrogens are represented on the free Carbons that are not occupied by 4 bonds, as Carbon forms up to four bonds.
First discovered in 1803, it was isolated in 1830 and widely used as a cough expectorant and cancer therapy1. Amygdalin, also commonly known as Laetrile, became popular as an aspect of cancer treatment in the 1970s2. The compound, which is found in the pits of apricots and other fruits, is broken down in the human body when orally ingested to produce hydrogen cyanide2, an extremely toxic compound.
The experiments performed using Amygdalin as a potential anti-cancer agent were reminiscent of the therapies that came before it, dating back to some of the first chemotherapy agents explored, including the mustard gas chemotherapy, that began in 1942, inspired by the lasting effects found from attacks in World War I3. Unlike Nitrogen Mustard which is still used in chemotherapy treatments today3, Amygdalin was discredited in the late …show more content…
Research details the supporting role Amygdalin plays in treating cancers and other multiple other diseases1. There is plenty of information that both supports and discredits Amygdalin in regard to cancer therapy. Cancer can be described as a vastly differing disease that has the potential to devastate all systems of the human body3. Unless Sidney Farber had been bold enough to intravenously inject Nitrogen mustard back in 1942 to the first patient3, chemotherapy may have been a very different process today, which only gives hope that with the continuing advancement of technology and knowledge, perhaps one day significant research may show a drastic change in the use of Amygdalin to treat cancer, or any other