General Description
Cetyl myristoleate (CMO) is the common name for cis-9-cetyl myristoleate,
a fatty acid ester consisting of cetyl alcohol and myristoleic acid.
It occurs naturally in certain rodents such as beavers and Swiss
albino mice. Discovered in 1964 by Harry W. Diehl, a researcher
at the National Institutes of Health, CMO was virtually unknown
to the scientific community until 1976, when Diehl applied for a
use patent for the purpose of preventing rheumatoid arthritis. Diehl
was later granted use patents for CMO for treatment of both rheumatoid
and osteoarthritis. Although CMO was originally derived from mice,
it is now commonly produced by combining cetyl alcohol with myristoleic
acid derived from vegetable sources. A waxy substance at room temperature,
CMO is a pale-yellow, oily substance at body temperature. CMO is
available as a dietary supplement in tablet, capsule, and softgel
forms. It is also available in creams and lotions for topical application.
Health Applications
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis
Diehl first discovered CMO while researching arthritis treatments.
As part of his research, Diehl would inoculate mice with Freund's
adjuvant, a substance known to cause arthritis symptoms in many
laboratory animal models. He found that he was unable to induce
arthritis in a certain strain of mice, the Swiss albino mouse.1
Diehl eventually isolated the substance (CMO) that he believed
responsible for the mouse's innate protection against arthritis.
When he injected the CMO into rats before injecting Freund's adjuvant,
the rats did not develop arthritis, while rats not given CMO that
were injected with Freund's adjuvant developed arthritis symptoms.2,3
While reports of CMO in the treatment of arthritis in humans are
based mostly on anecdotal evidence, one double-blind study conducted
on 431 patients found CMO to be significantly more effective than
a placebo in improving arthritis symptoms.4
Dosage/Toxicity
The usual dosage recommendation for CMO is 400 to 500 mg per day
for 30 days. It is often recommended that CMO be used in conjunction
with cartilage-nourishing supplements such as glucosamine sulfate.5
CMO has no known toxicity and is generally well tolerated; however,
it may produce mild burping in some individuals.5 | 
