In June 1999, after Vale ignored the suit, the presiding judge issued a default judgment and asked a magistrate to recommend the amount of damages. The judge agreed. Amygdalin is a cyanide-containing compound found in the seeds of apricots and several other fruits. However, it is neither safe nor effective and is not legal to market in the United States. When subjected to enzymatic breakdown in the body, amygdalin forms glucose, benzaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide.
Proponents claim that amygdalin kills tumor cells selectively while leaving normal cells alone.
This claim is false. Laetrile has been tested in at least 20 animal tumor models and found to have no benefit either alone or together with other substances. Studies of human case reports have also been uniformly negative. Moreover, some patients treated with laetrile have suffered nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness, and a few have died from cyanide poisoning. In 1982, in response to political pressure, the Mayo Clinic and three other cancer centers began a clinical trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.