Research on MSM toxicity

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Originally posted by AK

Toxicity of methylsulfonylmethane in rats.<br>

Horvath K, Noker PE, Somfai-Relle S, Glavits R, Financsek I, Schauss AG.<br>

Pharmaceutical Control and Development Laboratory Ltd, Budapest, Hungary.<br><br>

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a popular dietary supplement used in a variety of conditions including pain, inflammation, allergies, arthritis, parasitic infections and the maintenance of normal keratin levels in hair, skin and nails. Despite its popularity, there is little published toxicology data on MSM. The objective of this study was to evaluate the acute and subchronic toxicity of MSM in rats at a dose five to seven times the maximum recommended dose in humans. MSM administered in a single gavage dose of 2 g/kg resulted in no adverse events or mortality. MSM administered as a daily dose of 1.5 g/kg for 90 days by gavage resulted in no adverse events or mortality. Necropsy did not reveal any gross pathological lesions or changes in organ weights. Renal histology of treated animals was normal. It is concluded that MSM is well tolerated in rats at an acute dose of 2 g/kg and at a subacute chronic dose of 1.5 g/kg.<br><br>
Incorporation of methylsulfonylmethane sulfur into guinea pig serum proteins.<br>

Richmond VL.<br><br>

Methionine, an essential amino acid, and cysteine are the major sulfur-containing amino acids in the body and both are thought to be synthesized predominantly in plants and micro-organisms. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a natural constituent of the environment in which it is found in plants, in milk and urine of both bovines and humans, is a normal oxidation product of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) also in the natural environment and may be part of the natural global sulfur cycle. To determine whether sulfur from methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is incorporated into sulfur amino acids, I fed 35S-MSM to guinea pigs. 35S was incorporated into peptidyl methionine and cysteine of guinea pig serum proteins. The specific activity of 35S-methionine was 30% greater than for 35S-cysteine, suggesting a precursor-product relationship. Total specific activity of serum proteins was increased by only 30% with a 100% increase of administered 35S-MSM, suggesting a limiting step in synthesis. Approximately 1% of the radioactivity was recovered in serum proteins, none in the feces and most was excreted in the urine. Microorganisms of intestinal lumen may be responsible for the incorporation of the 35S of MSM into sulfur amino acids. MSM may provide a source of sulfur for essential animal methionine by mechanisms not yet elucidated in either animals or micro-organisms.

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Originally posted by sg

Thanks for the info, AK. It appears that MSM is pretty harmless, at least according to this report. I was a little confused by some of the statements towards the end of the report, though. Are they saying that only 1% of the MSM is used by the body and the rest is excreted in the urine? And then it seemed like they were saying that it may not be the body that uses it, but the bacteria living in the intestinal lumen? I'm not sure if I read that correctly. What is your interpretation of this report?
By the way, I took a "Fitness for Life" class in college, and I remember that the instructor encouraged us to get the nutrients that we needed by improving our diet, rather than taking supplements. It was her opinion that vitamin supplements give you nothing but expensive urine. Of course, I'm sure you could find studies that contradict this view. As for myself, I'm currently taking MSM and hoping for some results. So far, I've seen no difference (but it's only been a week).