Lauric Acid and HIV

[Martin Hewlett]

Martin Hewlett <marty_hewlett at TIKAL.BIOSCI.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:
>Here's an interesting question.  One of my undergraduate students asked 
>me if I had heard anything regarding the effect of lauric acid in the 
>diet on HIV infection.  It seems he heard on a radio talk show (great 
>source!) that this might explain those children who have recovered from 
>HIV infections.  The story is that they were fed formulas high in 
>tropical oils, including lauric acid.  Apparently, so the theory goes, 
>laruic acid is converted into "monolaurin" which is supposed to be a 
>potent inhibitor of HIV assembly.

Well, I have the answer, in part, to my own post.  My student (Robert 
Speer) did a little more searching and came up with a body of work 
exploring the effect of medium chain triglycerides on the inactivation 
of viruses.  [Ref:  Thormar, et. al., Antimicrobial Agents and 
Chemotherapy, (1987), vol 31, pp. 27-31]  Apparently, fatty such as 
lauric acid (12:0) reduce the titer of viruses such as VSV, HSV-1 and 
Visna by 4 logs or more.  This is a contact phenomenon, involving 
disintegration of viral membranes.  In fact, a lipase in milk converts 
the triglyceride to a monoglyceride (e.g., monlaurin) which is as active 
as the free fatty acid.

This, therefore, must be the source of the current talk show information 
about laruic acid and baby formulas (these formulas are rich in tropical 
oils such as coconut, a source of medium chain triglycerides).  Bob 
Speer also found a press release from Red Mill Farms, Inc., touting the 
"beneficial antiviral properties" of their food products such as 
"Jennies Macaroons."

I can understand how these compounds in human milk would have a 
prophylactic effect for viruses that are transmitted enterically.  
However, I have no idea what evidence there might be that dietary 
monoglycerides result in a significant level of the monoglyceride in the 
circulation.

Martin Hewlett
Associate Professor
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
University of Arizona