Clinical Trial Report
The Effectiveness of the Use of Oral Lignisul MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) Supplementation on Hair and Nail Health
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Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.
Council for Natural Nutrition
Written by Elzbieta M. Kurowska, Ph.D.
KGK Synergize Inc.
The personal care products designed to improve growth and appearance of hair and nails continue to be demanded by the general population, regardless of gender and age. While numerous cosmetics and topical drugs are available on the market, effective oral supplements remain scarce. Structural proteins of hair and nails, keratins, contain very high level of sulfur, largely in the form of amino acids such as cystein and cystin. Thus, increased dietary intake of sulfur-rich supplements might be beneficial for hair and nail health. Consistently with this hypothesis, previous reports showed an improved growth and strength of hair or hoofs in animals given sulfur-rich supplements, such as dimethyl sulfate or methionine hydroxy analog (1-2).
Dietary sulfur-containing compounds are widely distributed in plant products and in cows’ milk (3-4). The most common organic sulfur compounds, thought to provide nearly 85% of daily sulfur, include methylsulfonylmethane (C2H6S2O, MSM), dimethylsulfoxide (C2H6SO, DMSO) and dimethylsulfide (C2H6S) (5-6). MSM, which is the richest dietary source of sulfur, is also known as one of the least toxic substances in biology (7). Previous studies demonstrated that low quantities of MSM are naturally present in human urine (8-9) and that sulfur from dietary MSM can incorporate into keratin-forming amino acids (10).
MSM supplementation has been suggested to be beneficial in treatment of various diseases (7), however, its possible role in promoting hair and nail health has not been investigated. Therefore, the objective of this present study was to initially evaluate the effect of MSM (Lignisul MSM as supplied by Carolwood Corporation) supplementation on growth and appearance of hair and nails in healthy human subjects.
Methods
Hair study
Twenty-one subjects (16 men and 5 women) with a mean (± SD) age of 53 ± 14 y (ranging from 34 to 81 y) were recruited for the hair study. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Eleven subjects (9 men and 2 women) were asked to take daily capsules containing MSM at the dose 3,000 mg/day, for a period of 6 weeks. The remaining 10 subjects received placebo in identical capsules, for the same period of time. The placebo substance consisted of sucrose and a small amount of quinine sulfate added to create a slightly bitter taste, similar to that of MSM. The investigators and the subjects were blinded as to whether supplement capsules were with placebo or with MSM.
The hair health status was evaluated by Certified Cosmetologists under the direction of the Principal Investigator at the beginning of the study period ((t = 0) and after 6 weeks (t = 6 wk). The assessment of hair length, diameter and brilliance was done using industry-standard measurement scales.
Nail study
In the nail health study, 11 subjects (10 women and 1 men) with a mean (± SD) age of 45 ± 13 y (ranging from 28 to 61 y) were randomly assigned to take the placebo (6 subjects) or MSM (5 subjects). The double-blind design, doses and treatment periods were identical to those described for the hair health study. The nail health parameters, including length, thickness and lustre, were assessed by Certified Cosmetologists at the beginning of the study and after 6 wk treatment, using industry standard measurement scales.
Statistics
Changes in hair or nail health status induced by MSM vs. placebo supplementation were analyzed using non-parametric test followed by unpaired t-test and/or Wilcoxon test (for change in hair/nail length and hair diameter) and by chi-squared test (for changes in hair brilliance, nail thickness and nail lustre). The non-parametric tests were selected because of limited number of values and because the values within groups were not normally distributed. Results
Hair study
All subjects completed the study and no adverse effects were reported. The results of the hair health assessment in control vs. treatment group are presented in Table 1 (all subjects) and Table 2 (males). In all subjects, and also in males given the MSM supplement, hair brilliance was significantly improved when compared to the controls (p = 0.012 and p = 0.034 for all subjects and males, respectively). The moderate improvement in hair brilliance (+ 1 point in the scale 1-4) was observed in 55% of all subjects (6 out of 11) and in 56% males (5 out of 9) treated with MSM. In contrast, no changes in hair brilliance were reported in any of the placebo-treated subjects or males. The results obtained in females remained inconclusive due to very small sizes of placebo and treatment groups.
Analysis of changes in the remaining indicators of hair health status, hair length and diameter, did not show significant differences between the groups. Hair length increases tended to be greater in MSM-treated males than in their placebo-given counterparts (+20%, p = 0.20, p = 0.10 by unpaired t-test and by Wilcoxon test, respectively) but a similar trend was not observed for all subjects. Hair diameter did not tend to improve after 6 weeks of MSM supplementation.
Nail study
In the nail study, dietary supplements also did not cause any adverse effects but in the placebo group, only 4 out of 6 subjects had completed the 6 wk evaluation. The results (Table 3) did not show statistically significant differences between the treatment and placebo group, however, two out of three parameters of nail health status, nail length and thickness, had a tendency to improve after the MSM supplementation. The mean nail length increases were 2.5 fold greater in the MSM group than in the controls. Also, small beneficial changes in nail thickness (+0.5 point in the scale 1-4) tended to occur in 40% of subjects treated with MSM (2 out of 5 individuals) but not in placebo-treated controls. No benefits of MSM were reported for nail lustre.
Discussion
The results of the above pilot studies confirmed previous finding that in humans, chronic supplementation with MSM is unlikely to produce adverse health effects (6). The results also suggested that in healthy human subjects, a 6 wk supplementation with MSM (3 g/day) might beneficially affect the appearance of hair by significantly improving its brilliance. This observation is consistent with previous reports, which showed improved hair health parameters in animals fed diets supplemented with sulfur-rich compounds (1-2). Treatment with MSM did not produce significant changes in other parameters measured, such as hair length and diameter or nail length, thickness and luster, although male subjects given MSM tended to experience a better hair growth than their placebo-treated counterparts. The limited positive changes in hair health and lack of statistically significant improvement in nail health observed after MSM intervention are likely related to small group sizes and short periods of treatment. To verify this preliminary data, future full size trials should involve larger groups of subjects and longer periods of MSM treatment. The new trial should also utilize a crossover design, with periodical monitoring of blood sulfur concentrations as a marker of compliance.
© 2004 Essential Foods b.v.