MSM Natural
or Synthetic? Resolving the Controversy
by Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D.
There is
controversy in the industry about the question of whether
methylsulfonylmethane (also known as dimethyl sulfone
or MSM) is a "natural" or "synthetic"
product. In some ingredient directories, MSM is listed
as either natural or synthetic. How could the same product
be both? By understanding how MSM is manufactured, one
can answer the question.
MSM has been
around for more than 35 years. DMSO and MSM research
can be traced back to the 1950s. In fact, there are
more than 55,000 studies on DMSO alone. Since DMSO breaks
down in the body to MSM and other sulfur compounds,
there is considerable evidence of its safety, along
with two acute toxicity studies on MSM that basically
attest to it being as safe to consume as water.
The most
significant body of clinical evidence on the broad range
of therapeutic applications for MSM as a dietary supplement
comes from the work led by Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., Professor
of Surgery at the Oregon Health Sciences University
in Portland, Ore. Dr. Jacob has studied MSM's therapeutic
benefits either administered intravenously or orally
in more than 15,000 patients seen in his clinic at the
medical school over the last three decades.
Jacob is
the senior author of The Miracle of MSM (Putnam: New
York, 1999). In this book, Jacob and his co-author report
how MSM has been found to significantly decrease the
discomfort associated with arthritis, back pain, headaches,
athletic injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and a myriad
of autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma, lupus and
fibromyalgia. This product has been so effective in
helping patients with these problems since its introduction
into the natural products marketplace that MSM has almost
surpassed glucosamine hydrochloride (or glucosamine
sulfate) and chrondroitin sulfate as an analgesic dietary
supplement, as well as for allergy relief and as an
anti-inflammatory agent.
MSM is a
simple molecule that contains eleven atoms bonded into
one configuration.There are no isomeric forms. MSM that
is manufactured by humans is indistinguishable from
the MSM found in nature. MSM and DMSO are made in the
United States and several foreign countries by--essentially--the
same method.
It is important
to understand how MSM is made in nature to appreciate
the similarity between this process and how chemical
engineers have learned to produce MSM. Microscopic phytoplankton
living in the oceans eventually die and begin to decompose.
As the biomass decays, it gives off a highly odoriferous
compound called dimethylsulfide (DMS). This gas is highly
volatile and taken up by our atmosphere. Samples of
air taken at various elevations in our atmosphere record
the presence of DMS.
Both oxygen
and sunlight react with DMS; that causes DMS to go through
a series of oxidation steps that include the formation
of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)
and other sulfates. Studies on how clouds form have
demonstrated that microscopic particles of sulfate are
required for water vapor in the atmosphere to form clouds.
The water droplets "absorb" DMSO and MSM since
both are highly soluble in water. Eventually, when the
clouds release their water droplets as rain, trace amounts
of these compounds drop to the Earth to be used by plants
or returned to the sea to repeat the process.
Plants and
animals take in sulfur by using the MSM and other sulfur
compounds that have come from the atmosphere. This process
is essential for all life on this planet. One would
therefore think that plants and microscopic animals
would be an ideal "natural" source for MSM
since they require it and concentrate it in their tissue
and cells. Unfortunately, this is not possible since
the amount of MSM in plant or animal cells is no more
than a few parts per million, too little for commercial
extraction. Hence, the only viable method for producing
large commercial quantities of these life-giving sulfur
compounds is by using chemical technology.Therefore,
one can not buy "natural" MSM. It is not commercially
possible. Instead, one must rely on chemical engineering
and the skills of chemical engineers to produce commercial
quantities of MSM.
How is
MSM Made?
All
MSM is formed by catalytic reaction of hydrogen peroxide
with DMSO. All DMSO is formed by reaction of nitrogentetroxide
and oxygen with DMS. The oxygen atoms for these reactions
come from the atmosphere, the same source used in nature.
DMSO is made
commercially by two competing processes. The most common
method, in simplified terms, is reaction of sulfur with
natural gas (methane). Methyl alcohol made from natural
gas is combined with sulfur in the form of hydrogen
sulfide or carbon disulfide in a vapor phase catalytic
reaction to form DMS and methylmercaptan (MM). MM is
primarily used to make the amino acid methionine, another
dietary supplement. DMS is sold for various industrial
uses or converted to DMSO. This process is generally
favored due to high conversion yield, low energy consumption
and its independence from a paper mill waste stream.
The alternate
method combines sulfur with paper mill pulping liquids
to make DMS. Sulfur (usually obtained as a by-product
from oil refinery processing required to make clean
burning fossil fuels) is added to black liquor and heated
to about 460EF under high pressure. Crude DMS is stripped
from the liquor after about an hour. This process is
very energy intensive and limited by low yield and pulping
capacity. The black liquor is burned in a recovery boiler
to dispose of the remaining organic material from the
wood and to reclaim the inorganic chemicals for recycle
to make fresh pulping liquor. Crude DMS is purified
by a series of extraction and distillation steps to
make a product for sale or conversion to DMSO. DMSO
produced by either method results in an identical molecule
that is indistinguishable as to the original source
of DMS.
Many manufacturers
of MSM have established facilities and methods for processing.
Due to the volatility of sulfur compounds, a single-purpose
facility can prevent any cross-contamination that might
occur if other sulfur-containing products were produced
at the same location. Distillation processes prevent
contamination, including heavy metals and residual DMSO.
Low moisture content helps prevent microbiological contamination
and increases stability and shelf life.
In summary,
nature does make MSM. However, the amount of MSM found
in nature in cells as a source is on a scale so small
that the only way to produce commercial quantities for
human or veterinarian use is to rely on the manufacturing
methods developed by chemical engineers. The process
nature uses to produce MSM is rather similar to how
humans produce it commercially. But MSM is not "natural,"
rather it is a synthetic product. The confusion in qualifying
the source of MSM as "natural" or "synthetic"
comes from the fact that MSM is identical in structure
whether it comes from the factory or is found in nature.
Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D., is a former
Clinical Professor of Natural Products Research at the
National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland,
Ore. For the previous 21 years, he was director of Natural
and Medicinal Products Research, Life Sciences Division,
AIBMR Inc. in Tacoma, Wash. Schauss is the author of
a new book, Minerals, Trace Elements and Human Health
(4th Edition), Biosocial Publications, 1999.
OptiMSM is only brand of MSM that is approved by the FDA for use in Clinical Research Studies in the USA
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