Though DMSO is not a plant, it is derived from plant material and commonly used in our business. Here is some information on DMSO:
I remember my first meeting with DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide), I was just hired on my first training job and had settled in California. I noticed this strange bottle of fluid called DMSO already in residence in that California tack room. My first introduction to DMSO and that was 1973. Now DMSO is pretty much a staple of any serious horse training barn and any sports medicine facility. Vets inject it, nasally spray it, and mix it with their conventional medications. Vets seem to accept DMSO far more readily for it therapeutic values than any other health professional. Trainers around the USA consider it indispensable.
DMSO was first synthesized in 1866 by a Russian scientist. This substance was colorless, had a garlic odor, felt oily and looked like mineral oil in the test tube, and left an aftertaste similar to clams. This early scientist found that DMSO was an excellent solvent, great degreaser, paint thinner, and anti-freeze. For the next 80 years, DMSO was pretty much forgotten. After WWII, chemists were showing renewed interest in it as a solvent. It was found that DMSO could protect biological tissue from the damages of freezing.
What really brought DMSO to public recognition was Dr. Jacob's early work with it as a kidney organ protector in freezing. He obtained samples of DMSO from the Zellerbach Paper Company, since it is commonly collected as a by-product of the paper making industry. It is derived from lignin, the cement substance of trees. He found that DMSO had a drying effect on skin making it useful in burn therapy. He found that painting it on his skin, he could taste it within seconds. Further studies by Jacob showed that DMSO not only passed through the skin membranes without damaging the tissue, but it also could carry a large number of substances with it, into the body. For example, Penicillin can be dissolved in DMSO and carried into the body. DMSO was shown to relieve pain, reduce swelling, exhibit anti-bacteria properties, improve blood supply, soften scar tissue, enhance other medicati ons, act as a diuretic, and have muscle relaxant qualities.
The deceased governor, George Wallace, brought some publicity to DMSO in the early 1970s from his use of this compound for his pain experienced in a wheelchair. Later, in 1980, "60 Minutes" did a piece on DMSO which further popularized the mystic of DMSO. The FDA has stubbornly refused to recognize DMSO for human use except in a few isolated pathologies. Veterinarians can use it on horses for various ailments, but they are the exception in the eyes of the FDA.
DMSO is curious in that it has a freezing point of 68 degrees F. The pure forms of DMSO will freeze at that temperature, but with the addition of more and more water, DMSO's freezing point will be lowered. This is a good test to know how pure your DMSO is. If it does not freeze in two hours in the refrigerator, it probably is diluted with water.
Also, note that DMSO is highly hygroscopic. It pulls water out of the air and out of body tissue (hence, its drying effect). DMSO and water have a very strong chemical bond. This is the mechanism of how it moves through the live tissues by bonding with the water molecules.
The immune system is stimulated into higher effectiveness by DMSO which allows macrophages to move around and through the tissues faster. DMSO diminishes allergic reactions.
Many drugs dissolve in DMSO and retain their activity and properties while combined with DMSO. Often DMSO can strengthen and multiply the action of dissolved drugs. It has been found that many drugs can be used in smaller quantifies when applied in DMSO. As a penetrating carrier of drugs, DMSO is unsurpassed. It can easily carry pharmaceuticals to any part of the body in therapeutic dosages. It can penetrate endothelial coatings of the arterial walls, meninges of the brain, skin, mucous membranes, most all tissues. Intravenous and intramuscular injection of DMSO can pass it easily into the brain and spine. The blood/brain barrier is usually exempt to most drug therapy, not DMSO. It will pass through this impenetrable area. DMSO has been administered topically; injected under the skin, in the muscle and in the blood; given orally, intrathecally and by inhalation. I have used DMSO for a number of years as a menstrum for my herbal tinctures. It is the best replacement for ethanol, that I can think of. Not only will it extract the medicinal properties from your herb, but it will produce a tincture that will very efficiently transport those medicinal properties through the skin and GI tract equal to, if not better than ethanol.
Horsemen primarily use DMSO topically. Many of you who have employed it will note that it does indeed dry the skin out. This usually happens only with concentrations at the higher levels. It usually is believed that optimal concentrations of DMSO varies from 50% to 90%. In human practice, 50% concentrations are routinely used around the face and neck. 70% concentrations are generally considered the usual concentrations in administration on the other areas of the skin. I think you will find that many vets tend to mix pure DMSO at higher concentrations and this will often cause scurfing or drying of the skin which is not really serious, but may disturb the uninformed owner.
Here are 16 major therapeutic properties of DMSO:
1) It blocks pain by interrupting conduction of the small c-fibers, the nonmyelinated nerve fibers.
2) anti-inflammatory,
3) bacteriostatic, fungistatic, and virostatic,
4) transport therapeutic drugs across the membranes,
5) reduces platelet thrombi in blood vessels,
6) can reduce the workload on the heart,
7) tranquilizing properties,
8) enhances antifungal, antibacterial agents,
9) a vasodilator,
10) inhibits cholinesterase,
11) softens scar tissue,
12) scavenges hydroxyl free radicals,
13) stimulates immune system,
14) potent diuretic when administered IV,
15) stimulates interferon formation,
16) stimulates wound healing
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