Message Number: FHL7810 | New FHL Archives Search
From: Sukie Crandall
Date: 2009-02-04 20:07:18 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] looking up galanthus and amygdalin
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>

>Gallanthus

Okay: it is Galanthus Nivalis, the snow drop, and the _PDR for Herbal=20
Supplements, 3rd edition_ (a human resource so things might or might=20
not apply) says:
medicinal use disputed
the fresh bulb is used and is harvested in the flowering season
Compounds: amaryllidacea alkaloids with the spectrum depending on=20
variety, Lectins
Drug considered toxic
Drug no longer in use but had been used as an aqueous solution of=20
Galanthmine hydrobromide 0.15 to 0.35 mg per kg IV, IM, sc
Direct, complete quote:
"The drug is toxic. Oral ingestion leads to symptoms resembling those=20
of physostigmine poisoning: diarrhea, colic and vomiting=20
(acetylcholine esterase inhibition through galanthamine). Fatal=20
poisonings have not been recorded.

I checked again, though, and ***unless*** they mean to add it in the=20
future (since the poisonous plants section appears to be under re-
construction) it could be okay for ferrets but avoid it for people.=20=20
(There are meds of a whole range of types which are the opposite:=20=20
fine for humans but poisonous for ferrets, so it can happen both ways.)

Okay, "Laetrile (vitamin B-17/Amygdalin)" was written. Laetrile has=20
killed some people as I recall. I don't know if that was the Laetrile=20
itself or because the processing from apricot pits did not remove the=20
cyanide or something else in those pits sufficiently.
It's not in the _PDR for Nutritional Supplements, first edition_. Let=20
me look elsewhere.

Cyanide is poisonous to members of Carnivora:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/apricot.html

Dangerous combination:
http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/39/9/1566
> Life-Threatening Interaction Between Complementary Medicines:=20
> Cyanide Toxicity Following Ingestion of Amygdalin and Vitamin C


<http://www.euro-emergencymed.com/pt/re/ejem/abstract.00063110-200510000-00=
014.htm;jsessionid=3DJJxTG2yGYg46ZYSQkhr3Jn4SyYp8nL2JDpvG6v5X7bthh3jvG4Yn!1=
321082991!181195629!8091!-1
>
> European Journal of Emergency Medicine:Volume 12(5)October 2005pp=20
> 257-258
> Severe cyanide toxicity from 'vitamin supplements'
> [SHORT REPORTS]
> O'Brien, Brian; Quigg, Catherine; Leong, Tim
>


http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bpb/29/8/29_1597/_article
> Amygdalin Induces Apoptosis through Regulation of Bax and Bcl-2=20
> Expressions in Human DU145 and LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells
> Hyun-Kyung Chang1), Mal-Soon Shin1), Hye-Young Yang1), Jin-Woo=20
> Lee1), Young-Sick Kim1), Myoung-Hwa Lee1), Jullia Kim1), Khae-Hawn=20
> Kim1) and Chang-Ju Kim1)
> 1) Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University

http://www.osteosarcomasupport.org/Alt-Cancer-Therapies-Proven-Disproven.pd=
f

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/citation/32/5/1121

http://www.springerlink.com/content/j46152606728636h/

> Stefania Milazzo1, Stephane Lejeune2 and Edzard Ernst1
> (1) Complementary Medicine, Peninsula Medical School, Universities=20
> of Exeter and Plymouth, Institute of Health and Social Care, 25=20
> Victoria Park Road, Exeter, EX2 4NT, UK
> (2) EORTC Data Centre, Avenue E. Mounier 83, bte 11, 1200 Brussels,=20
> Belgium
> Received: 19 July 2006 Accepted: 20 September 2006 Published=20
> online: 15 November 2006
>
> Abstract
> Background Many cancer patients treated with conventional therapies=20
> also try =91alternative=92 cancer treatments. Laetrile is one such=20
> =91alternative=92 that is claimed to be effective by many alternative =

> therapists. Laetrile is also sometimes referred to as amygdalin,=20
> although the two are not the same.
> Objective The aim of this review is to summarize all types of=20
> clinical data related to the effectiveness or safety of laetrile=20
> interventions as a treatment of any type of cancer.
> Materials and methods All types of clinical studies containing=20
> original clinical data of laetrile interventions were included. We=20
> searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials=20
> (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (from 1951), EMBASE (from 1980), Allied and=20
> Complementary Medicine (AMED), Scirus, CancerLit, Cumulative Index=20
> to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL; all from 1982), CAMbase (from=20
> 1998), the MetaRegister, the National Research Register, and our own=20
> files. For reports on the safety of laetrile, we also searched the=20
> Uppsala database. No language restrictions were imposed.
> Results Thirty six reports met our inclusion criteria. No=20
> controlled clinical trials were found. Three articles were=20
> nonconsecutive case series, 2 were consecutive case series, 6 were=20
> best case series, and 25 were case reports. None of these=20
> publications proved the effectiveness of laetrile.
> Conclusion Therefore, the claim that laetrile has beneficial=20
> effects for cancer patients is not supported by sound clinical data.
> Keywords Laetrile - Amygdalin - Cancer - Systematic review
>


and there are more of a range of types if a person searches, so it=20
would never be something to try lightly if a person decides to try=20
it. The cells of malignancies pull up things faster than most healthy=20
cells because they replicate so fast. That means that sometimes=20
nutrients are taken up preferentially by malignancies and if a person=20
gives supplements with certain types of malignancies that can backfire=20
badly (and C can also cause problems for radiation treatments for=20
certain types of malignancies). This is also seen with poisons. Some=20
poisons that can kill mammals may kill certain malignancy cells faster=20
due to faster uptake, but it can be a tricky balancing act.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/