Hi Chicagoan,

I have not used MSM myself but I wrote up a whole report on this supplement for one of my graduate classes for my masters of integrative nutrition....maybe you will find some of this info helpful? Sorry for the format, but I couldn't figure out how to copy and paste it otherwise from the PDF that it was in...

MSM

Methylsulfonylmethane

Biochemistry and Therapeutic Uses

MSM is a naturally occurring nutrient composed of sulfur, oxygen and methyl groups.

MSM is the oxidized form of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). DMSO is an organic form of sulphur

commercially prepared from lignin and used in topical form. Both are naturally occurring

compounds found in green plants, fruits, and vegetables.

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In the presence of ozone and high energy ultraviolet light, MSM and DMSO, is formed from dimethyl

sulfide, taken up into atmosphere, returned to the earth in rainfall, and taken into the root systems of

plants.

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MSM can be found in small quantities in a variety of foods such as milk, fruits and vegetables (e.g.,

tomatoes, corn), coffee, and tea.

MSM and DMSO are said to reduce peripheral pain, inflammation and arthritis, and might inhibit

the degenerative changes occurring in osteoarthritis.

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May act through their ability to stabilize cell membranes, slow or stop leakage from injured cells and

scavenge hydroxyl free radicals which trigger inflammation. Their sulphur content can rectify dietary

deficiencies of sulphur improving cartilage formation.

MSM is proposed to be involved in both anti inflammatory and anti oxidative activity

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Inhibits pro inflammatory cytokines

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Increases antioxidant defense (glutathione)

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Decreases the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS)

MSM is used orally and topically.

Conditions Treated/Supportive

Research

Spinal degenerative conditions

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Research in the efficacy of MSM with spinal degenerative

conditions are conflicting and have been both supportive and

inconclusive

Osteoarthritis (OA)

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C urrently there is no definitive evidence for the efficacy of

either DMSO or MSM in OA.

Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis (SAR)

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One study suggests that MSM supplementation of 2,600

mg/day for 30 days may be efficacious in the reduction of

symptoms associated with SAR. Research is up and coming.

Certain Cancers/Tumors

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Liver, Bladder, Breast, possibly other types

How Much MSM is Right for Me?

RDI

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The suggested oral therapeutic doses are 4 6 g/d

Upper Intake

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doses of up to 20 g/d have been used

Daily Values

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over the counter preparations are typically 1 5 g daily

Form differences

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Oral and Topical

Effective dose

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The optimum dosage has not been clearly defined as no

dose ranging studies have been carried out.

Safety Warnings

Precautions:

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There is limited formal safety data and no long term assessment

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According to animal toxicity studies, only minor adverse effects in

levels that are 5 to 7 times the proposed maximum recommended

human dose of 6 grams per day have been seen.

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Only minor adverse effects are associated with MSM administration in

humans and include allergy, GI upsets and skin rashes.

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MSM is rapidly excreted from the body and animal toxicity studies of

MSM showed only minor adverse events using doses of 1.5 g/kg and

2.0 g/kg of MSM for 90 days. This dose represents a human dose of

30 42 g/d, which is equivalent to 5 7 times the proposed maximum

recommended human dose of 6 g/d. A further study confirmed MSM

had no toxic effects on either pregnant rats or their fetus.

Drug, nutrient and food interactions:

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Interactions have been suggested as the next wave of studies

Interesting Information

Sulfur is the sixth most abundant macromineral in breast milk and the third most

abundant mineral based on percentage of total body weight.

The sulfur containing amino acids (SAAs) are methionine, cysteine, cystine ,

homocysteine, homocysteine, and taurine.

MSM supplementation in healthy, moderately exercise trained men may favorably

influence selected markers of exercise recovery. This effect appeared to be greater

with a daily dosage of 3.0 grams of MSM than a daily dosage of 1.5 grams.

Organic sulfur, as SAAs, can be used to increase synthesis of S adenosylmethionine

SAMe ), glutathione (GSH), taurine, and N acetylcysteine (NAC).

MSM may be effective for the treatment of allergy, pain syndromes, athletic

injuries, and bladder disorders.

Other sulfur compounds such as SAMe , dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), taurine,

glucosamine or chondroitin sulfate, and reduced glutathione may also have clinical

applications in the treatment of a number of conditions such as depression,

fibromyalgia, arthritis, interstitial cystitis, athletic injuries, congestive heart failure,

diabetes, cancer, and AIDS.

References

1.

Barrager E, Schauss A. Methylsulfonylmethane as a treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis: additional data on

pollen counts and symptom questionnaire. Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine (New York,

N.Y.) [serial online]. February 2003;9(1):15 16. Available from: MEDLINE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed

August 5, 2015.

2.

DiSilvestro RA, DiSilvestro DJ, DiSilvestro DJ: Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) intake in mice produces elevated

liver glutathione and partially protects against carbon tetrachloride induced liver injury. FASEB J 2008, 22:445.8.

3.

Kim J H, Shin H J, Ha H L, et al. Methylsulfonylmethane suppresses hepatic tumor development through

activation of apoptosis. World Journal of Hepatology . 2014;6(2):98 106. doi:10.4254/wjh.v6.i2.98.

4.

Kim LS, Axelrod LJ, Howard P, Buratovich N, Waters RF: Efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in

osteoarthritis pain of the knee: a pilot clinical trial.Osteoarthr Cartil 2006, 14(3):286 294.

5.

Kristmanson , Kevyn , Sandy Sajko , and Kent Stuber . "Efficacy of glucosamine, chondroitin, and

methylsulfonylmethane for spinal degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease: a systematic

review." Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 55.1 (2011): 47+. Academic OneFile. Web. 4 Aug.

2015.

6.

Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). Alternative Medicine Review [serial online]. November 2003;8(4):438 441.

Available from: Alt HealthWatch , Ipswich, MA. Accessed August 5,

7.

Nakhostin Roohi B, Barmaki S, Khoshkhahesh F, Bohlooli S: Effect of chronic supplementation with

methylsulfonylmethane on oxidative stress following acute exercise in untrained healthy men.J Pharm

Pharmacol 2011, 63(10):1290 1294.

8.

Parcell S: Sulfur in human nutrition and applications in medicine. Altern Med Rev 2002, 7(1):22 44.

9.

S. Brien, P. Prescott, N. Bashir, H. Lewith , G. Lewith , Systematic review of the nutritional supplements dimethyl

sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in the treatment of osteoarthritis, Osteoarthritis and

Cartilage, Volume 16, Issue 11, November 2008, Pages 1277 1288, ISSN 1063 4584,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2008.03.002.

I would totally take the capsules...can you just switch now and not torture yourself with the granules? Sounds really gross lol!!

I wonder if you encapsulated them yourself? There’s little encapsulation kits that you can get either on amazon or at your local health food market (they usually have them) and then buy a bunch of vegetarian gel caps and voila! You have a pill!!

May be worthwhile to have on hand

Something like this: Wananfu Capsule Filling Machine 00 for Empty Gelatin and Vegetarian Capsule 00 with Detailed Instructions, Spoon and Screwdriver -Filling Powdered Herb, Vitamins,Essential Oils and Supplements Easily https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781D9QYX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TFGXDbXCVNP0E

and you just have to get the veggie capsules to fill up. Can be fun

I take MSM in a combination pill formulation of glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. Triple Strength. Powder sounds challenging but you are right, this supplement is not cheap. I buy the largest size bottle, generic CVS brand, when CVS is having it buy 1, get 1 free sale (which seems to be every few weeks).

Can someone tell me what 300 mM MSM translates into in terms of milligrams, per the article below?

The combination of methylsulfonylmethane and tamoxifen inhibits the Jak2/STAT5b pathway and synergistically inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in ER-positive breast cancer xenografts

MSM is a natural sulfur containing compound which acts against various breast cancers [10, 27, 28] and is already found as an efficient drug in combination therapy against cancer cells [46]. Combination therapy is one of the methods we can employ to reduce the adverse effects of the drug, either by reducing the concentration of the individual drug, or by synergising the mechanism of the drug. The dosage of MSM we used in this study is a higher concentration. It is not the amount of MSM that contains in food. We used a concentration of 300 mM MSM (individual concentration) just for pharmacological purpose. In order to check the efficacy of combination therapy, we reduced the concentrations of both MSM (200 mM) and Tam (15 μM). Treatment with Tam may cause joint pain to the pateients, whereas MSM is an effective drug for the treatment of joint pain. So the usage of this drug combination may also reduce the joint pain caused by Tam.

https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11...