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THE RATIONALE FOR UTILIZING LAURIC ACID-RICH FOODS AS ADJUNCT THERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HIV POSITIVE.
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Lowering viral load, and perhaps enhancing immune function, gives a hint of reversing HIV status in infants. The reversal of HIV in infants, which has been documented on occasion, needs to be investigated for its potential since the use of high levels of lauric acid has an established precedent in both human milk and infant formulas.

While drug companies are working on vaccines to kill off HIV, monolaurin can potentially destroy the lipid envelope that interferes with the potential vaccine. Some of the vaccine effort aimed at destroying the protein core could be greatly enhanced by the large-scale destruction of the lipid envelope of the virus.
 


HOW DO WE KNOW THAT LAURIC OILS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR DESTROYING HIV AND OTHER PATHOGENIC VIRUSES?

Recognition of the antimicrobial activity of monolaurin has been reported since 1966. The seminal work can be credited to Jon Kabara at Michigan State University. Many of the pathogenic organisms reported to be inactivated by these antimicrobial lipids are those known to be responsible for opportunistic infections in HIV+ individuals such as cytomegalovirus (see <http://www.lauric.org/lcv.html>).

Numerous researchers (2- 6) have reported that certain fatty acids (e.g., medium-chain saturates) and their derivatives such as monoglycerides can have adverse effects on various microorganisms. Microorganisms that are inactivated include bacteria, yeast, fungi, and enveloped viruses. These fatty acids and their derivatives act by disrupting the lipid membranes of the organisms. In particular, enveloped viruses are inactivated in both human and bovine milk by added fatty acids (FAs) and monoglycerides (MGs) as well as by endogenous FAs and MGs. (7- 12)
The properties that determine the anti-infective action of these lipids are related to their structure e.g., monoglycerides, and free fatty acids. Monoglycerides are active while diglycerides and triglycerides are inactive. Of the saturated fatty acids, lauric acid has greater antiviral activity than either caprylic acid (C-8), capric acid (C-10) or myristic acid (C-14) for these viruses. 

Isaacs and Thormar reported that the antimicrobial effects of the FAs and MGs are additive and total concentration is critical for inactivating viruses. (13) Some of the viruses inactivated by these lipids, in addition to HIV, are the measles virus, herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), visna virus, and cytomegalovirus (CMV). As noted earlier, many of the pathogenic organisms reported to be inactivated by these lipids are those known to be responsible for opportunistic infections in HIV+ individuals. According to the research, lauric acid is one of the best "inactivating" fatty acids, and its monoglyceride is even more effective than the fatty acid alone.
"Monoglycerides are active while diglycerides and triglycerides are inactive."
The antiviral action attributed to monolaurin is that of solubilizing the lipids and phospholipids in the envelope of the virus causing its disintegration. In effect, it is reported that the fatty acids and monoglycerides produce their killing/inactivating effect by lysing the (lipid bilayer) plasma membrane. There is evidence from some recent studies however, that one antimicrobial effect of monolaurin is related to its interference with signal transduction in cell replication.