Manufacturer seeks broader distribution of cetyl myristoleate-based joint care product

The product, called CM Response, is based on the molecule cetyl myristoleate, which is an ester of myristoleic acid, which can be found in saw palmetto and other plants. The company’s first products were aimed at pets and horses, said Lyndsey Myers, marketing director of response products.

“We have been in business 15 years and have seen so many fantastic results of cetyl myristoleate in aiding joint health, both for active dogs involved in things like agility tests and older dogs that need support for daily comfort,”​ Myers told NutraIngredients-USA.  She said customers who had positive results using the product with their dogs and horses started asking for some for themselves, and a human formulation (that includes glucosamine) was launched.

“We were primarily an agricultural-based company, but CM Response was one of our first products.  We have never advertised our human line or put any resources behind it, but it has become one of our biggest sellers,”​ Myers said.

Limited data​

The action of cetyl myristoleate is based primarily on the work of the late natural product chemist Harry Diehl, who retired in 1974 after a career at the National Institutes of Health. Diehl discovered the compound while testing the effects of anti inflammatory drugs.  In a paper that arose out of that research​, Diehl wrote that cetyl myristoleate “afforded good protection against adjuvant-induced arthritic states in rats.”​

But not much work has been done on the substance since then, and a subsequent review of the evidence of various nutraceuticals on osteoarthritis​ concluded “limited evidence was found for the Chinese plant extract duhuo jisheng Wan, cetyl myristoleate, lipids from green-lipped mussels, and plant extracts from Harpagophytum procumbens.”​

Experiential results​

Myers said the company bases its product on Diehl’s work, and she said she is aware of the sensitive nature of making claims on dietary supplements.  While she said the company has received many reports of the product's effects on pets and people, the label claims only that the product “nourishes joint cartilage, supports flexibility” ​and “relieves discomfort.”​

And it’s well to be cautious; while there are few cetyl myristoleate products on the market, they have been the subject of FDA warning letters, with one issued as recently as 2013 for making non-compliant disease claims related to the ingredient.

“We are saying that the product supports overall joint health,” ​Myers said.

Response Products recently completed a move of its headquarters to Texas and has partnered with marketing firm Nutritional Products International on the broader commercialization of the supplement.