What is Monolaurin?
Monolaurin is an anti-microbial agent that protects the immune system from a range of infectious agents. Monolaurin is a glyceride ester derivative of lauric acid, a fatty acid found naturally in breast milk and certain vegetable oils. This fatty acid has been used as a germicidal agent for centuries. Lauric acid was originally discovered when microbiologists studied human breast milk to determine the antiviral substances which protected infants from microbial infections. It has been shown to protect newborns, whose immune systems are underdeveloped, from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and other respiratory tract viruses (1,2). Monolaurin was found to have even great viral activity than lauric acid. As a dietary supplement, Monolaurin has shown exciting results as an anti-viral and anti-bacterial agent.
How does Monolaurin work?
Monolaurin works by destroying lipid-coated viruses such as herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, and various pathogenic bacteria and protozoa.
Monolaurin works by binding to the lipid-protein envelope of the virus, thereby preventing it from attaching and entering host cells, making infection and replication impossible. Other studies show that Monolaurin disintegrates the viral envelope, killing the virus.
What is Monolaurin effective in treating?
In general, Monolaurin can help treat colds, flu, EBV, shingles, herpes, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
In studies performed at the Respiratory Virology Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, Monolaurin was found effective against 14 human RNA and DNA enveloped viruses in cell culture (3). These included influenza, RSV, Rubeola, Newcastle's, Coronavirus, Herpes Simplex types 1 & 2, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus. (Monolaurin has no effect on naked viruses, such as polio, encephalitis virus, coxsachie, or pox viruses.) Monolaurin removed all measurable infectivity by disintegrating the virus envelope. In addition to its antiviral effects, monolaurin has also been shown to have antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Groups A, F & G streptococci, Chlamydia, H. pylori, and against yeast and fungi as well, including Candida and ringworm.
How can I protect myself during the cold and flu season?
Monolaurin serves as a valuable nutritional adjunct for people who feel that they are coming down with a cold or flu. Many physicians have developed their own clinical protocols in their cold and flu prevention program and recommend taking several capsules of Monolaurin on an empty stomach.
Monolaurin is not the type of nutritional supplement you have to take on a daily basis (although many people take it regularly for prevention purposes), but only when the need arises. If you have a fever or swollen lymph glands, it is always best to see a physician, but if you sense the early warning signs of the flu, like sniffles, sore skin and perhaps a scratchy throat, Monolaurin may offer the first line of defense.
ANTIBIOTICS, MONOLAURIN AND THE FLU
Antibiotics kill unwanted micro-organisms, but they also kill many friendly micro-organisms. Monolaurin, on the other hand, does not appear to have an adverse effect on desirable digestive bacteria, but rather only on unwanted microorganisms. In addition Monolaurin can reduce the resistance of germs to antibiotics.
Frequent antibiotic use can lead to major disruptions in health and especially immune system function. Antibiotic resistance, resulting from the over-use of prescription drugs, is one of the biggest problems facing the medical community today. Resistance is cumulative (and comes in part from antibiotics in our food supply). That's why it's important to consider starting with nutritional agents, such as Monolaurin, first. Uncomplicated flu, while unpleasant, is not life threatening and doesn't necessitate drug therapy. Nutritional physiologic agents, such as Monolaurin, may be a good first choice.
Is Monolaurin safe?
Not only is Monolaurin included on the GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) list, but it may, by virtue of its source of origin, be safer than many other food supplements that are designed to boost the immune system.
One of the safest substances known to man is breast milk. This is where the monoglyceride of lauric acid (Monolaurin) is found. When an infant is born, it is totally dependent on food factors in the mother's milk for immune protection. In analyzing the composition of human breast milk, medical researchers found lauric acid monoglycerides in high concentrations, which is what led them to study Monolaurin as an anti-viral agent (4,5). Monolaurin is also found in coconut oil, butter, and heavy cream; only recently has it been isolated and purified. It is highly unusual in pharmacology to find chemicals that are toxic to lower forms of life (bacteria, fungi, and viruses) but non-toxic to man.
References
1. Isaacs CE. The antimicrobial function of milk lipids. Adv. Nutr. Res. 10:271-85, 2001.
2. Welsh JK, May JT. Anti-infective properties of breast milk. J. Pediatrics 94, 1-9, 1979.
3. Hierholzer JC and Kabara JJ. In vitro effects of Monolaurin compounds on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses. J. Food Safety 4:1, 1982.
4. Kabara JJ. Lipids as host-resistance factors of human milk. Nutr. Rev. 38:65, 1980.
5. Silver RK et al. Factors in human milk interfering with influenza-virus activities. Science 123:932-933, 1956.
6. Cohen SS. Strategy for the chemotherapy of infectious diseases. Science 197:431, 1977.
7. Dulbecco A. Interference with viral multi- plication. In: Virology, Dulbecco, A. and Ginsberg, H. edit, Harper & Row, Philadelphia, 1980.
8. Kabara JJ et al. Fatty acids and derivatives as antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2:23, 1972.
9. Sands JA et al. Antiviral effects of fatty acids and derivatives. In: Pharmacological Effects of Lipids. Am. Oil Chem. Soc: Champaign, 1979;75.
10. Beuchat LA. Comparison of antiviral activities of potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and glycerol and sucrose esters of fatty acids. Appi. Environ. Microbiol. 39:1178, 1980.
11. Sands J et al. Extreme sensitivity of enveloped viruses, including herpes simplex, to long chain unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 15(1):67-73, 1979.
12. Kohn A. et al. Unsaturated free fatty acids inactivated animal envelope viruses. Arch. Virol. 66:301-306, 1980.
13. Ismail-Cassim, N et al. Inhibition of the uncoating of bovine enterovirus by short chain fatty acids. J. Gen. Virol. 71(10):2283-9, 1990.
14. Rabia S. et al. Inactivation of vesicular stomatitis virus by photosensitization following incubation with a pyrene-fatty acid. Febs. Let. 270(12):9-10, 1990.
15. Boddie RL and Nickerson SE. Evaluation of postmilking teat germicides containing Lauricidin, saturated fatty acids, and lactic acid. J. Dairy Sci. 75(6):1725-30, 1992.
16. Ascherio A., Munger K.L., Lenette E.T., Spiegelman D., Hernan M.A., Olek M.J., Hankinson S.E., and Hunter, D.J. Epstein-Barr virus antibodies and risk of multiple sclerosis: a prospective study. JAMA 286(24:3127-9, Dec. 26th, 2001.
17. Simmons A. Herpes virus and multiple sclerosis. Herpes 8(3):60-3, Nov. 2001.
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