4. CMO (cetyl myristoleate)
Cetyl myristoleate (CMO) is the common name for cis-9-cetyl myristoleate. (You can think of it as a relative of the Omega-9 fatty acid found in olive oil.) It is a completely natural medium chain fatty acid found in certain animals, including cows, whales, beavers, and mice -- but not in people. CMO was discovered in 1972 by Harry W. Diehl, Ph.D., a researcher at the National Institutes of Health. At the time, Dr. Diehl was responsible for testing anti-inflammatory drugs on lab animals. In order for him to test the drugs, he first had to artificially induce arthritis in the animals by injecting a heat-killed bacterium called Freund's adjuvant. Dr. Diehl discovered that Swiss albino mice did not get arthritis after injection of Freund's adjuvant. Eventually, he was able to determine that cetyl myristoleate was the factor present naturally in mice that was responsible for this protection. When CMO was injected into various strains of rats, it offered the same protection against arthritis. There have been three notable studies on humans.
Studies
The first double blind study was conducted in 1997 under the auspices of the Joint European Hospital Studies Program. Of the 106 people who received cetyl myristoleate, 63% showed improvement vs just 15% for the 226 people in the placebo group.
In 2001, a study of 1814 arthritis patients found that over 87% of the subjects in the study had greater than 50% recovery and over 65% of those showed from 75% - 100% recovery following a sixteen day regimen. All types of arthritis were positively affected by CMO. Only those subjects with liver damage or digestive problems or those taking immune suppressing medications were not helped.
In 2002, a double blind study of 64 people with chronic knee pain, published in the Journal of Rheumatology, concluded that CMO provided a significant functional improvement in range of motion vs placebo. In fact, the study concluded that CMO “may be an alternative to the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs for the treatment of osteoarthritis."
What It Means
The 500 mg of CMO I added to the formula provides four distinct benefits:
- It serves as a lubricant for the joints and muscles, virtually equivalent to silicone in its effectiveness.
- It facilitates the rebuilding of cartilage.
- It functions as an immunomodulator -- helping to stop an errant immune system from attacking joint cartilage.
- It functions like a fatty acid in that it mediates inflammatory processes.
5. 5-LOXIN®
Dried extracts of boswellia serrata have been used since the dawn of history to treat inflammatory conditions. (Note: the common name for boswellia is frankincense. It's not an accident that it was one of the biblical gifts of the Magi.) Over the last few years, boswellia has attracted much attention in the world medical community because it possesses anti-inflammatory properties that are equal to prescription medications without the unpleasant/dangerous side effects. For example, research conducted in India found that an extract of boswellia was more beneficial for rheumatoid arthritis and less toxic and more potent than the standard drug of choice at the time, benzoyl hydrotropic acid.
Other research
In animal studies, dogs suffering from osteoarthritis received boswellia extract once daily for six weeks. After just two weeks, 71% of the animals showed significant improvement in clinical symptoms of arthritis, including reduced pain, stiffness, and lameness.
In a human study, boswellia was similarly shown to be effective in adults with osteoarthritis. Thirty subjects with osteoarthritis of the knee took part in a 16-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. All of those who took a boswellia supplement reported less pain and swelling, increased knee flexion, and the ability to walk a greater distance.
But it's not just arthritis. Boswellia seems to have the ability to reduce all forms of inflammation. In studies, bronchial asthma was reduced in 70% of 40 patients treated with 300 mg three times daily for 6 weeks in a double-blind trial. It has also proven effective in helping control the inflammation associated with Crohn's disease and colitis.
How it works
Boswellia works through entirely different mechanisms than anti-inflammatory drugs. Whereas most drugs function as Cox enzyme inhibitors, boswellia works by inhibiting lipoxygenase enzymes (LOX), which are powerful contributors to inflammation and disease. By inhibiting LOS enzymes, boswellia effectively blocks leukotriene synthesis. Leukotrienes play a major role in promoting a whole host of age-associated, inflammation-related diseases including joint problems, intestinal disorders, cancer, and lung related disease.
In addition, it appears that boswellia can inhibit the breakdown of connective tissues caused by tumor necrosis factor-alpha, a potent inflammatory agent in the body.
And finally, it appears that boswellia has the ability to modulate the immune system and inhibit inflammatory activity, thereby helping with a number of autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.
Or to put it in simpler terms, the boswellic acids in boswellia seem to have the ability to suppress the proliferating tissue found in inflamed areas of the body and prevent the concomitant breakdown of connective tissue. In addition, boswellia has been found to improve blood supply to the joints and restore the integrity of weakened blood vessels, again with no side effects as seen with the traditional drugs of choice.
What It Means
Boswellia is a great herb for helping with inflammation related conditions -- with two caveats.
- Quality is erratic.
- And even with standardized extracts, it takes a lot (1-3 grams per day) to get the desired effect.
Which brings us to 5-LOXIN.
5-LOXIN is a new, patent-pending boswellia extract that provides 30% acetyl-11-keto-beta boswellic acid (the most bio-active compound found in boswellia) at levels ten times more concentrated than ordinary extracts. It allows us to use much lower dosages of boswellia (100 mg) while achieving much greater results. As an added bonus, 5-LOXIN has been shown to inhibit matrix metalloproteinase (MMP's), a class of enzymes that breaks down cartilage, collagen, and connective tissues -- and is a major contributor to certain forms of heart disease.
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