The Clinical Use of Monolaurin as a Dietary Supplement: A Review of the Literature

The purpose of this study was to determine what the peer-reviewed literature says about the clinical applications, therapeutic dosages, bioavailability, efficacy, and safety of monolaurin as a dietary supplement.

This was a narrative review using the PubMed database and the terms "monolaurin" and its chemical synonyms. Commercial websites that sell monolaurin were also searched for pertinent references. The reference sections of the newer articles were searched for any other relevant articles. Consensus was reached among the authors as to what articles had clinical relevance.

Twenty-eight articles were found that appeared to address the clinical use of monolaurin.

There are many articles that address the antimicrobial effects of monolaurin in vitro. Only 3 peer-reviewed papers that evidence in vivo antimicrobial effects of monolaurin in humans were located, and these were only for intravaginal and intraoral-that is, topical-use. No peer-reviewed evidence was found for the clinical use of monolaurin as a human dietary supplement other than as a nutrient.