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EC / List no.: 220-001-1
CAS no.: 2599-01-1
Mol. formula: C30H60O2
Cetyl Myristate (CMO) is a fatty acid found naturally in certain animals, including mice, cows, beavers, and whales.
Cetyl Myristate is sold in dietary supplement form and is also available as a skin cream.
Cetyl Myristate is touted as a natural treatment for a number of health conditions, primarily osteoarthritis.
However, there is little research to confirm benefits of its use.
What Is Cetyl Myristate (CMO) Used For?
Cetyl Myristate was initially isolated from National Institutes of Health (NIH) mice after it was found that this substance protected these animals from developing experimentally induced arthritis.
CMO appeared on the market as a supplement in 1991 and continues to be used by consumers as a treatment for bursitis, gout, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sports-related injuries.
There is a lack of research on the health benefits and safety of cetyl Myristate.
Most of the available research has explored whether it may aid in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis
Proponents claim that cetyl Myristate can help with osteoarthritis, a condition marked by wear and tear of the cartilage surrounding the joints.
Cetyl Myristate is said to relieve joint pain and reduce further joint damage, possibly by reducing inflammation.
Cetyl Myristate is typically taken in supplement form or applied directly to the skin (typically in the form of a cream).
In a 2004 study published in the Journal of Rheumatology, researchers found that use of a cream containing cetyl Myristate helped improve physical functioning in people with osteoarthritis of the knee.
For the study, 40 patients with the condition were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: a cream made with cetyl Myristate or a placebo cream.
After 30 days of twice-daily treatment, those given CMO showed a 10 times greater improvement in range of motion in their knees than the placebo group.
Additionally, a 2002 study from the same journal found that consuming cetyl Myristate in an oral supplement may help improve knee range of motion and overall function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
However, the results were conflicting.
The study involved 64 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, each of whom was treated with either one of three doses of cetyl Myristate (100%, 80%, or 62.4% of fatty acid component with 12.5% of CMO) or a placebo for 68 days.
Compared to members of the placebo group, those treated with 100% and 62.4% cetyl Myristate showed greater functional improvements by the study's end.
The 80% group, however, did not show improvement over the control group.
A small 2017 study with 28 subjects published in the journal Medicine showed similar findings—that CMO is effective in reducing pain and improving mobility in patients with mild osteoarthritis of the knee.
While these studies may seem promising, they were small and little is known about the effects of long-term use of cetyl Myristate.
Other Conditions
Some people use cetyl Myristate for other types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Others use it for the management of autoimmune and other types of conditions, including the following.
However, there is not enough scientific evidence to support the use of cetyl Myristate for these purposes.
Back pain
Behçet's disease
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
Emphysema
Fibromyalgia
Leukemia and other cancers
Multiple sclerosis
Psoriasis
Reiter's syndrome
Silicone breast disease
Sjögren's syndrome
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Uses
Cetyl Myristate is a wax ester of myristic acid used in cosmetics as skin conditioning agents.
This chemical is called Tetradecanoic acid, hexadecyl ester, and it can also be named as Cetyl myristate.
With the molecular formula of C30H60O2, its molecular weight is 452.80.
The CAS registry number of this chemical is 2599-01-1.
Other characteristics of the Cetyl Myristate, hexadecyl ester can be summarised as followings: (1) ACD/LogP: 14.52;
(2) # of Rule of 5 Violations: 1;
(3) ACD/LogD (pH 5.5): 14.52;
(4) ACD/LogD (pH 7.4): 14.52;
(5) ACD/BCF (pH 5.5): 1000000;
(6) ACD/BCF (pH 7.4): 1000000;
(7) ACD/KOC (pH 5.5): 10000000;
(8) ACD/KOC (pH 7.4): 10000000;
(9) #H bond acceptors: 2;
(10) #H bond donors: 0;
(11) #Freely Rotating Bonds: 28;
(12) Polar Surface Area: 26.3 Å2;
(13) Index of Refraction: 1.454;
(14) Molar Refractivity: 142.8 cm3;
(15) Molar Volume: 527.2 cm3;
(16) Polarizability: 56.61×10-24cm3;
(17) Surface Tension: 31.6 dyne/cm;
(18) Density: 0.858 g/cm3;
(19) Flash Point: 255.5 °C;
(20) Enthalpy of Vaporization: 75.03 kJ/mol;
(21) Boiling Point: 484.9 °C at 760 mmHg;
(22) Vapour Pressure: 1.47E-09 mmHg at 25°C.
IUPAC names:
hexadecyl tetradecanoate
SYNONYMS:
Cetylmyristate
hexadecylmyristate
Tetradecanoicacid,hexadecylester
HEXADECYL TETRADECANOATE
PALMITYL MYRISTATE
Myristic acid hexadecyl ester
Myristic acid palmityl ester
Hexadecyl tetradecanoate
Cetyl myristate
Palmityl myristate
2599-01-1
Tetradecanoic acid, hexadecyl ester
hexadecanyl tetradecanoate
UNII-7OPL833Q4D
7OPL833Q4D
WE(16:0/14:0)
Hexadecyl myristate
Schercemol CM
Hexadecylmyristate
Tetradecanoic acid,hexadecyl ester
PubChem17190
SCHEMBL59908
Myristic acid, hexadecyl ester
palmityl myristate, AldrichCPR
DTXSID1062546
EINECS 220-001-1
LMFA07010038
MFCD00056217
ZINC59660502
AKOS022183496
AS-62081
DB-007806
FT-0629052
J-016214
Q27268650
UNII-D072FFP9GU component QAKXLTNAJLFSQC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
UNII-MVY7P518D2 component QAKXLTNAJLFSQC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
UNII-QV6353F6TG component QAKXLTNAJLFSQC-UHFFFAOYSA-N
