:A.I.D.S.

AIDS-Treatment-News: Article: Monolaurin

Date: 06/05/87 Issue: 033

Monolaurin, a fatty-acid derivative found in mothers milk, may contribute to the protection of the infant, before the infant's own immune system has fully developed. Monolaurin is known to be effective against several lipid-coated viruses (a class which includes the AIDS virus), and against certain bacteria as well. The U.S. government has approved monolaurin as a food additive for over 20 years; in 1964 the substance was placed on the list of GRAS substances ("generally recognized as safe"). It is a food which appears to be entirely safe to humans, and it has been extensively studied as a non-toxic food preservative which prevents the growth of bacteria and viruses. Monolaurin is inexpensive and readily available.
Yet until recently researchers have had little interest in using monolaurin as a treatment for disease. Biochemical theories predict that the digestive system would break down monolaurin into the same end products already provided by ordinary foods, making it ineffective for systemic use as an antiviral. But recent experience suggests that these theories may be wrong.
Monolaurin works against lipid coated (enveloped) viruses much like AL 721 - an experimental AIDS treatment developed in Israel, and covered in depth in earlier articles in this series. The same theories which predict that monolaurin could not work as an antiviral after passing through the digestive system also predict that AL 721 would not, for the same reason. But human experience now suggests that AL 721 can be effective orally as an antiviral. At least one of the leading researchers on monolaurin believes that if AL 721 can be an antiviral after passing through the digestive system, then monolaurin probably would too - and the combination may be especially effective.

A group in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Oklahoma Project Inform has studied monolaurin, and brought it to this writer's attention. Two people in that group have now used the treatment for almost 60 days, and report that it has been effective in reducing severe swelling of lymph nodes when nothing else had helped. Others have used monolaurin for shorter times, not long enough yet to tell whether it works. But no one so far has been unhappy with this treatment or stopped using it for any reason.

:Background

Chemically, monolaurin can be described as a monoglycerol ester of lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid. Some commercially available "monolaurin", however, is only 40 to 60 percent pure and may not be effective; at least 90 percent is required (Kabara 1984).

All experts seem to agree that monolaurin is entirely safe. Animals have been fed huge amounts, up to 25 percent of their total diet for ten weeks, without any sign of harm (Kabara, 1984). However, no human or animal scientific tests have studied its effectiveness when used orally as an antiviral.

:Availability

Cardiovascular Research Ltd. (Arteria, Inc.) in Concord, California, a well-regarded health food company, distributes products containing monolaurin. Most of their business is through physicians, but they also distribute 300 mg capsules of monolaurin in health-food stores, under the "Arteria" or "Ecological Formulas" label. The cost of using 1.8 grams per day is about $30 per month.

:References

Flournoy DJ and Kabara JJ. The role of lauricidin as an antimicrobial agent. Drugs of Today, volume 21 number 8, pages 373-377, 1985.

Kabara JJ. Lauricidin: the nonionic emulsifier with antimicrobial properties. In Cosmetic and Drug Preservation, Principles and Practice, Jon J. Kabara ed. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York and Basel, 1984.

Hierholzer JJ and Kabara JJ. In vitro effects of monolaurin compounds on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses. Journal of Food Safety, volume 4, pages 1-12, 1982.

Sands J, Auperin D, and Snipes W. Extreme sensitivity of enveloped viruses, including herpes simplex, to long-chain unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, volume 15 number 1, pages 67-73, 1979.