Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) Monograph

Introduction Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), also known as dimethyl sulfone (DMSO 2 ) and methyl sulfone, is an organic sulfur-containing compound that occurs naturally in a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and animals including humans. A white, odorless, slightly bitter-tasting crystalline substance containing 34-percent elemental sulfur, MSM is a normal oxidative metabolite product of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Cow’s milk is the most abundant source of MSM, containing approximately 3.3 parts per million (ppm). Other foods containing MSM are coffee (1.6 ppm), tomatoes (trace to 0.86 ppm), tea (0.3 ppm), Swiss chard (0.05-0.18 ppm), beer (0.18 ppm), corn (up to 0.11 ppm), and alfalfa (0.07 ppm). MSM has been isolated from plants such as Equisetum arvense, also known as horsetail. Although few human clinical trials have been conducted, MSM has shown therapeutic promise in in vitro and animal studies. In addition, MSM has been used with clinical benefit for pathologies for which DMSO, its parent compound, has yielded positive results in clinical trials.