Resources

As a complement to vaccines, small-molecule therapeutic agents are needed to treat or prevent infections by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, which cause COVID-19. Affinity selection-mass spectrometry was used for the discovery of botanical ligands to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Cannabinoid acids from hemp (Cannabis sativa) were found to be allosteric as well as orthosteric ligands with micromolar affinity for the spike protein. In follow-up virus neutralization assays, cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid prevented infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and prevented entry of live SARS-CoV-2 into cells. Importantly, cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid were equally effective against the SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant B.1.1.7 and the beta variant B.1.351. Orally bioavailable and with a long history of safe human use, these cannabinoids, isolated or in hemp extracts, have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Hemp compounds identified by Oregon State University research via a chemical screening technique invented at OSU show the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells.

Findings of the study led by Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy and Linus Pauling Institute, were published today in the Journal of Natural Products.

Hemp, known scientifically as Cannabis sativa, is a source of fiber, food and animal feed, and multiple hemp extracts and compounds are added to cosmetics, body lotions, dietary supplements and food, van Breemen said.

Van Breemen and collaborators, including scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, found that a pair of cannabinoid acids bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, blocking a critical step in the process the virus uses to infect people

A quick read offering a brief snapshot of the past 5,000 years of Pharmacological Cannabis use and some of the most significant findings since Western Medicine has adopted its use in the past 180 years, this paper establishes (from multiple sources) Cannabis’ prowess and widespread use across many cultures and epochs as a critical pharmacological treatment for ailments such as acute and chronic pain, convulsive disorders, rheumatism, opiate addiction, and more.

This review of 1217 abstracts culminated in a deep dive on 39 scholarly articles to review the effetcs of individual cannabinoids and combinations of cannabinoids as analgestics (used for pain management). This is a great opportunity to broadly review 39 peer qualified articles on the efficacy of cannabis as a pain management solution and begin to understand the limitations which of researching this complex therapeutic agent. It organizes the culminated findings by “Healthy Control Samples (3.1)” (subjects without underlying medical conditions) and “Patient Samples (3.2)” (subjects with underlying conditions).

This study observed the effects on tumor growth, propagation, and lifespan when medicated with different doses, combinations, and ratios of combinations of CBN, CBD, and Delta-9 & Delta-8 THC in mice. Some major observations included slower tumor growth in subjects dosed with Delta-9 THC, smaller tumor size observed in subjects dosed with CBN and Detla-8 THC, and a combination CBN, Delta-8, and Delta-9 was observed to increase mean lifespan of the tumor implanted mice by 36% over control.

This early study on rats and rabbits explored a range of potential site effects of the use of various cannabinoids and combinations. Notably, it concluded that the effects of THC were increased in impact and duration by the presence of CBN; measured by time to sleep, induce catantonia, and its capacity to work as an analgestic (pain reliever).

This study conducted to observe the psychoactive effects of dosing THC in concert with CBD as well as each independantly concluded that CBD does indeed mitigate the “euphoric” effects of THC as well as other “THC-like effects”, on its own CBD was shown to be innactive for all psychoactivity parameters measured.

The general takeaway from this large scale review was that use of selective cannabinoids was also associated with improvements in quality of life and sleep with no major adverse effects. This review assessed 11 randomized, controlled trials, totalling 1219 patients, by comparing cannabinoid therapies to conventional pain management sought to establish consensus amongst the contradictory recommendations founds throughout the many studies conducted.

This study led to the conclusion that high CBD to CBN ratios have a significant effect on reducing muscle withdrawal response (speeds relaxation) without impairing motor function. This essentially means that a high CBD:CBN ratio dose promotes muscular relaxation and inhibits the pain response to stress but does not impair the patient.
These results suggest that peripheral application of these non-psychoactive cannabinoids may provide analgesic (pin) relief for chronic muscle pain disorders such as temporomandibular disorders and fibromyalgia without central side effects.

This table demonstrates the approved characteristics or applications of medical cannabis in a clinical trial database of 3,143 patients (A), the associated symptoms it shown to address amongst patients within those trials (B), and how the patients experience or describe those symptoms which medical cannabis is shown to address in those trials (C)

A 2019 study found that both CBD and CBN were able to reduce myofascial pain in rats. A combination of CBN and CBD was even more effective than either alone. The results suggest that peripheral application of these non-psychoactive cannabinoids may provide analgesic relief for chronic muscle pain disorders such as temporomandibular disorders and fibromyalgia without central side effects.

THC and placebo groups were comparable at baseline. Compared with placebo, THC-treated patients reported improved and enhanced chemosensory perception and food ‘tasted better’. Premeal appetite and proportion of calories consumed as protein increased compared with placebo. THC-treated patients reported increased quality of sleep and relaxation. Quality of life scores and total caloric intake increased lead to the conclusion that THC may be useful in the palliation of chemosensory alterations and to improve food enjoyment for cancer patients.

Despite improvements in medical care, patients with advanced cancer still experience substantial symptom distress. There is increasing interest in the use of medicinal cannabinoids but little high-quality evidence to guide clinicians. This study aims to define the role of a 1:1 delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol (THC/CBD) cannabinoid preparation in the management of symptom burden in patients with advanced cancer undergoing standard palliative care.

Taste and smell disturbances in patients affected by cancer are very common, but often under-recognized symptoms. If not addressed properly, they may impact nutritional status, food enjoyment, and quality of life. Treatment tools available for clinicians to manage chemosensory alterations are limited and are often based on personal clinical experiences. The aim of this study was to assess current oncological and palliative care literature through a scoping review, in order to identify available treatments for taste and smell alterations in cancer patients. This review examines. A broad variety of treatment options were described including zinc and polaprezinc, radio-protectors, vitamins and supplements, anti-xerostomia agents, active swallowing exercises, nutritional interventions, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and
photobiomodulation.

31 patients were involved in an observational cross-over study. The patients were screened, treated with 3 months of standardised analgesic therapy (SAT): 5 mg of oxycodone hydrochloride equivalent to 4.5 mg oxycodone and 2.5 mg naloxone hydrochloride twice a day and duloxetine 30 mg once a day. Following 3 months of this therapy, the patients could opt for MCT and were treated for a minimum of 6 months. Patient reported outcomes (PRO’s) included: FIQR, VAS, ODI and SF-12 and lumbar range of motion (ROM) was recorded using the modified Schober test. Results: While SAT led to minor improvement as compared with baseline status, the addition of MCT allowed a significantly higher improvement in all PRO’s at 3 months after initiation of MCT and the improvement was maintained at 6 months. ROM improved after 3 months of MCT and continued to improve at 6 months.

The high MC monthly dose group consumed higher levels of most phyto-cannabinoids and terpenes, but that was not the case for all of the cannabis components. The high dose consumers and the ones with lower ASRS score reported a higher occurrence of stopping all ADHD medications. Moreover, there was an association between lower ASRS score subgroup and lower anxiety scores. In addition, we found an association between lower ASRS score and consumption of high doses of cannabinol (CBN), but not with Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Conclusion: These findings reveal that the higher-dose consumption of MC components (phyto-cannabinoids and terpenes) is associated with ADHD medication reduction. In addition, high dosage of CBN was associated with a lower ASRS score. However, more studies are needed in order to fully understand if cannabis and its constituents can be used for management of ADHD.