Is it true that Vitamin B17 in loquat (biwa) seeds cure cancer? No, that's not true: The amygdalin contained in the seeds can even lead to poisoning, if consumed in large quantities.
The claim is an old hoax that appeared again on TikTok (archived here) on July 5, 2023. The post contains a text explaining how the pharmacy industry is benefiting from the expensive nature of cancer treatment, thereby hiding the benefits of Vitamin B17 found in loquat seeds. The post then says that even if there is research that proves that loquat seeds is effective in treating cancer, the media label the seeds as dangerous to help the pharmacy industry make more profit.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Sat Sep 23 03:15:14 2023 UTC)
It is true that there is some evidence about the health benefits of loquats - a study published in 2016 by The Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition found that loquat leaf extract inhibited tumor growth in mice. However, consuming loquat seeds in large amounts carries the risk of cyanide poisoning. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health. Loquat seeds contain amygdalin, a toxic cyanogenic glycoside substance that can be lethal if consumed in large doses (0.5-3.5mg/kg of body weight) in a short period of time.
