Monolaurin is often used to treat yeast.  Numerous websites mentioning monolaurin link it with helping to lessen the symptoms of flu, herpes, and a variety of viruses.  Monolaurin also is recommended to help with outbreaks of facial herpes virus.

Can monolaurin (which comes from a coconut source of lauric acid) help when you have an outbreak of facial herpes? Can monolaurin break the shell of the herpes simplex virus and also the flu virus so it can’t replicate/reproduce? Does the virus switch on the epigenetic tags on genes that create the risk factors?  It can – according to studies: “Epstein-Barr virus antibodies and risk of multiple sclerosis: a prospective study”.  (Also see the list of numerous studies at the bottom.)

Viruses can live in your stored fat and in the fat in your liver. Monolaurin, according to studies is effective against these viruses by breaking down the shell, membrane, or outer wall of the viruses so that they are chopped into bits, turned to liquid, and eventually are removed from your body.  Monolaurin is one of the most popular nutrients to assist in combating various viruses. It is believed to work by interacting with the lipids and phospholipids that form the envelope (skin) of the virus, causing it to weaken or disintegrate.”

Monolaurin removed all measurable infectivity by disintegrating the viral envelope as evidenced by electron micrographs.  By disrupting the conformation of the lipid bilayer (or the envelope), Monolaurin prevents viral attachment to susceptible host cells. Viruses that contain an envelope are termed “enveloped”, whereas those that lack an envelope are referred to as “naked”.

The study noted that, “DNA viruses (including herpes viruses) have a loose, outer envelope, which contains lipids. RNA viruses are similar in that they have a double outer envelope or bilayer which contains essential lipids and glycoproteins structurally embedded in this envelope.”   The term virucidal, means to have virus-killing ability.

   A sentence on page 82 of The High Blood Pressure Hoax notes, “Monolaurin actually disintegrates the lipid envelope or membrane of viruses, destroying their main defense.”  Rogers cites the study, “In vitro effects of monolaurin compounds on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses.”  It’s the lauric acid in monolaurin that binds to the virus’s lipid (fat)-protein envelope.  That’s how monolaurin inactivates the virus. You see, monolaurin binds to the membrane that covers the virus and prevents the virus from ‘uncoating.’   At this point, there’s no way the virus is able to reproduce itself.  Dr. Rogers cites as her resources (on page 91 of her book) the Hierholzer, Ismail-Cassim, Sands, Karbara, and Boddie studies.

The study suggests that “monolaurin requires access to the cytoplasmic membrane and/or the cytoplasm to exert its antimicrobial activity.”   Monolaurin kills cytomegalovirus and flu viruses as well as the Epstein-Barr virus, named as the culprit in chronic fatigue syndrome, by turning the fatty coat of both the flu and Epstein-Barr viruses into a liquid and then flushing which then disintegrates the bits of virus partaicles that had been inside their fatty shells or membranes that had enveloped those viruses.

UC Davis researchers think that specific shared molecular sites called epitopes result in some type of immunity to last autumn’s novel flu.  Epitopes, also called determinants, describe the peptide fragments that T cells recognize.  It’s your T cells that fight any foreign object such as a virus that comes into your circulatory system.

So what can you do to put a lid on sleeping viruses already in your system such as facial, mouth, back and chest herpes (simplex)?  What can you do to stop other CMV viruses from silently inflaming the inside of your blood vessels and hardening your arteries with calcified fats?  Monolaurin is a derivative of coconut that has been shown to have anti-fungal and anti-viral properties and is nontoxic and non-irritating to the intestinal tract.

On pages 81, 82, and 87 of the book, The High Blood Pressure Hoax, by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. (2005) there are several interesting sections on how monolaurin has been “able to dissolve the protective mebrane from 14 types of human viruses.”  One of those 14 viruses mentioned in the physician’s book is the flu virus.  Another source on swine flu breaking news is the Science Insider blog on science agencies reporting the latest news on swine flu that’s not in the usual mass media.

At the Avian Flu Talk Forum, one study mentioned at that site showed that monolaurin was effective against cytomegaloviru.  According to the study mentioned at the Avian Flu Talk Forum, “there are many anecdotal reports of monolaurin helping combat the flu.”  Monolaurin may stop the flu virus before symptoms appear and is also helpful at breaking the shell of the virus that causes chronic fatigue syndrome (the Epstein-Barr virus).

Also at the  Avian Flu Talk Forum, according to the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients article titled,  ” Antiviral intervention for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, monolaurin has been shown to be “active against influenza virus , pneumovirus , paramyxovirus (Newcastle), morbillivirus (rubeola), coronavirus (avian infectious, bronchitis virus), herpes simplex I & II, CMV, EBV, and HIV.  They state that it is also effective against yeast and fungi, staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus agalactiae, chlamydia trachomatis, candida albicans, giardia lamblia, ringworm, H. pylori and gonorrhea.”

Monolaurin is also called a virustatic agent that “directly block the replication of viruses.” The good thing is that monolaurin doesn’t let you develop any type of drug resistance.   So you can use it over and over again to fight flu viruses without a prescription.  According to the study abstract noted at the  Avian Flu Talk Forum, “Monolaurin alone has no effect on lymphocyte or macrophage functions.

The Avian Flu Talk Forum is the excerpt that is posted up there that states that, “Monolaurin is regarded as a virustatic. Virustatic agents directly block replication of viruses, so there is no subsequent development of drug resistance, but do not kill the virus. Monolaurin is effective against HSV-1 and -2, EBV, and CMV (which share lipid envelope characteristics ).”

   Here are some monolaurin-related research studies for you to read online or in your local university library that are cited on page 91 of:

The High Blood Pressure Hoax  by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. Ascherio A., Munger K.L., Lenette E.T., Spiegelman D., Hernan M.A., Olek M.J., Hankinson S.E., and Hunter, D.J. JAMA 286(24:3127-9, Dec. 26th, 2001.

Simmons A. “Herpes virus and multiple sclerosis,” Herpes 8(3):60-3, Nov. 2001.

Boddie , RL, Nickerson, SE, Evaluation of post milking teat germicides containing Lauricidin, saturated fatty acids, and lactic acid. Journal of Dairy Science, 75: 6: 1725-30, 1992.

Hierholzer , JC, Kabara, JJ, In vitro effects of monolaurin compounds  on enveloped RNA and DNA viruses, Journal of Food Safety, 4:1, 1982.

Ismail-Cassim , N. et al, Inhibition of the uncoating of bovine enterovirus by short chain fatty acids, Journal of General Virology, 71: 10: 22 83-9, 1990. Karbara , Lipids as host-resistance factors in human milk, Nutrition Reviews 38:65, 1980.

Sands, J, et al. Extreme sensitivity of enveloped viruses, including Herpes Simplex, to long chain unsaturated monoglycerides and alcohols, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 15; 1:67-73, 1979.

See also the books by Stephen Sinatra, M.D. titled,  The Sinatra Solution: Metabolic Cardiology ,  and Lower Your Blood Pressure in 8 Week. Also read the article online in a PDF file, Metabolic Cardiology , by Dr. Sinatra.