Nutrient Profile

MSM Packs a Sulfuric Punch

By Beth M. Ley Jacobs, Ph.D.

What packs a 34 percent sulfur content by weight, yet is completely odorless? Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), a nonmetallic organic compound contained in most foods and increasingly available in supplement form. Its white crystalline structure resembles sugar in color and texture, though the taste is slightly bitter so it is best mixed into water or juice.

Sulfur is as basic to life as water and salt, yet its value is commonly overlooked. As the eighth most abundant element in all living organisms, sulfur plays an essential role in human nutrition. It is an important element in more than 150 compounds in the body—tissues, enzymes, hormones, antibodies and antioxidants.^1,2 Sulfur is stored in every cell of the body, particularly in the hair, nails and connective tissue of joints and skin, where it is an important structural protein component. Connective tissue supports and connects the internal organs, forms the walls of blood vessels, and joins muscles to bones. One of its components is collagen, which holds water and gives connective tissue its flexibility.

Because sulfur bonds are essential structural features in all connective tissues, sulfurous compounds such as MSM, glucosamine and chondroitin have tremendous potential to benefit people with joint-cartilage degeneration conditions.³ Although it remains to be studied, MSM's high sulfur content may also prove helpful in treating similar diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and temporal mandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). Arthritis, lupus and TMJ involve connective tissue degeneration and synovial fluid depletion as well as inflammation and scar tissue buildup.

Researchers, however, are unsure how MSM works in the body. Some theorize that the sulfur may reduce pain and swelling. Others believe MSM exerts an anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect similar to that of aspirin. One preliminary double-blind study, conducted by UCLA School of Medicine professor Ronald Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D., followed 16 patients with degenerative arthritis or joint disease. The patients who took MSM daily for six weeks reported an 80 percent reduction in pain. Only two of those taking the placebo reported decreased pain—about 20 percent.⁴

Food for Thought
Before the advent of highly processed modern diets, foods were an important sulfur source. Meat and dairy products still contain sulfur, but air, soil and water pollution, overfarming, irrigation, and deforestation deplete soil minerals. This leads to mineral-depleted food and mineral-depleted people. Today the sulfur content in plant foods varies greatly due to fluctuating and deficient soil levels of sulfur. Food processing also removes sulfur from foods. Thus, sulfur is not easy to obtain from diet alone, particularly for vegetarians and especially lacto-ovo vegetarians, who may not get enough dietary protein.

Nutrients that contain elemental sulfur include thiamine, pantothenic acid, biotin and lipoic acid. All are needed for metabolic processes and contribute to nerve health, tissue respiration and cellular reconstruction. Sulfur is present in the amino acids methionine, taurine and cysteine, which make up protein structures in the body.¹

When amino acids and, particularly, vitamin C are present, the body metabolizes MSM to sulfur. Sulfur is a structural component integral to new cell growth. If the body is not receiving enough sulfur, it produces weak, dysfunctional cells. Some research suggests there is a minimum concentration of MSM that must be maintained in the body to preserve normal function and structure.⁵

Most sulfur research has been conducted under the direction of Stanley Jacob, M.D., and Robert Herschler at the Oregon Health Sciences Institute in Portland. Jacob has been examining the effects of MSM and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) for 40 years. MSM is the major metabolite of DMSO—with the added benefit that it remains in the body longer than DMSO and it does not produce sulfur's tell-tale odor.⁵

Herschler has three patents on MSM, acquired in 1985, 1986 and 1996.^6-8 Most of the information on human application stems from Jacob's and Herschler's research. They began studying DMSO in the late 1950s when they found DMSO tended to move through the skin and carry other materials with it. DMSO also demonstrated pain-reduction and anti-inflammatory properties.⁵

Other scientists are investigating the relationship between MSM and arthritis,⁹ asthma,¹⁰ dermatological problems,¹¹ periodontal conditions,¹² and even such disparate conditions as allergies, Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Herschler's patent claims assert that MSM supplementation has benefited patients with a variety of symptoms including arthritislike conditions, calcium deposits, allergies, nasal congestion, and some digestive disorders such as constipation. It is important to note, however, that these are just patent claims, not peer-reviewed and published studies.

Because there is little published research, there is limited human clinical data regarding MSM dosage. Until additional research is published, MSM enthusiasm should be tempered. Dosage recommendations depend on age, sex, body mass and the amount of MSM in the blood—but most doctors think it's too soon to make recommendations for safe therapeutic dosages. MSM is available in capsules and powder for oral intake or in creams for topical use. So far, there have been no reports of toxicity, despite the fact that high doses are often taken. If people take too much, though, they may experience minor gastrointestinal discomfort.

Remember that several other nutrients, such as vitamin C and the trace minerals zinc, copper and silicon, are needed in conjunction with MSM for optimal results.

Although there are few clinical trials that vouch specifically for MSM, sulfur and even DMSO (from which MSM is derived) have many reports in the scientific literature to back their effects.¹³ Additional unbiased studies are needed to confirm the preliminary data as well as the anecdotal evidence that support the use of MSM.

Sidebars:
Ubiquitous Sulfur

Beth M. Ley Jacobs, Ph.D., is author of MSM: On Our Way Back to Health With Sulfur (BL Publications, 1998).

References

1. Oae S., Okuyama T. Organic sulfur chemistry: biochemical aspects. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 1992. p.138-40.

2. Rezvukhin AI, et al. Stabilization of omega-3-polyunsaturated acids in fat from Mallotus villosus (Osmeridae) by the nontoxic, sulfur-containing antioxidant CO-3. Vopr Med Khim 1995 May-Jun;41(3):37-9.

3. Reichelt A, et al. Efficacy and safety of intramuscular glucosamine sulfate in osteoarthritis of the knee. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Arzneimittelforschung 1994 Jan;44(1):75-80.

4. Lawrence RM. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): a double-blind study of its use in degenerative arthritis. Int J of Anti-Aging Med 1998 July;1(1):50.

5. Jacob SW, Herschler R. Biological actions and medical applications of dimethyl sulfoxide. Ann NY Acad Sci 1983;411:xiii-vii.

6. Herschler R. U.S. Patent #4,559,329 (Dec. 17, 1985).

7. Herschler R. U.S. Patent #4,616,039 (Oct., 7, 1986).

8. Herschler R. U.S. Patent #5,569,679 (Oct. 29, 1996).

9. Sharif M, et al. The relevance of chondroitin and keratin sulphate markers in normal and arthritic synovial fluid. Br J Rheumatol 1996 Oct;35(10):951-7.

10. Joris L, et al. Elemental composition of human airway surface fluid in healthy and diseased airways. Am Rev Respir Dis 1993 Dec;148(6 Pt 1):1633-7.

11. Agostini G, et al. Active properties and therapeutic effects of San Giovanni Spa mud. (Insegnamento di Idrologia Medica, Universita degli Studi-Pisa.) Minerva Med 1996 Sep;87(9):427-32.

12. Miyazaki H, et al. Correlation between volatile sulphur compounds and certain oral health measurements in the general population. J Periodontol 1995 Aug;66(8):679-84.

13. Mudd SH. Sixteen inherited human diseases are now recognized, affecting most of the major steps in sulphur metabolism. In Sulphur in biology, CIBA Foundation Symposium 72, Excerpta Medica 1980, 239.