COVID-19 doesn’t seem to be leaving us alone any time soon. This means that we need to find more ways to reduce the worst risks associated with this viral disease. It seems that cannabis has something to offer, but not in a psychoactive way that you think. Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) might help prime cells against COVID-19.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active compound found in cannabis that may be able to fight some effects of COVID-19. Image credit: Chmee2 via Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)
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The Help from Synthetic Cannabidiol
Synthetic CBD is basically a lab-made version of a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis. It’s been proven to help against inflammation, pain and many other health conditions. Now scientists found that CBD may improve cells’ antiviral response and specifically arm them to recognize and attack three key proteins produced by the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
In essence, CBD can improve the first line of defence. Cells use specific receptors to recognize proteins of hostile particles, such as viruses or other pathogens. This triggers a rather morbid response – infected cells need to die to reduce infection.
Results of the Study
Robin Duncan, lead investigator of the study, explained: “With an RNA-type virus, like SARS-CoV-2, cells should activate an innate system that cuts up the viral genome, which also causes infected cells to undergo a process called apoptosis – a sort of controlled cell death that gets rid of infected cells early on. This could stop an infection, or slow its spread in the body or to others. When we combined CBD with these viral proteins, they had a much better ability to activate this system and to activate apoptosis.”
It seems like CBD may help fight the infection by triggering a response that kills infected cells and breaks down the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, scientists are ever more pleasantly surprised to learn that CBD increases the readiness of the cells to respond to viral infection.
CBD essentially alers the system, but doesn’t cause any response until it is needed. This is supported by the fact that CBD users in the US, who take this compound as a treatment for a rare type of epilepsy, are around 10 times less likely to test positive for COVID-19. Therefore, the pool of evidence showing that CBD can improve the body's response to COVID-19 infection is growing.
Concluding Thoughts
Cannabidiol has many properties that are interesting to scientists. It has no psychoactive properties, but it can be used to treat many different conditions. It is never the main medicine, but it can improve the body's responses to drugs, reduce side effects, and get rid of inflammation. CBD is very popular among athletes who say that this compound aids recovery. Maybe it is a good thing to have during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, people should note that these are only preliminary results, and further confirmation is needed from state medical agencies.
Source: University of Waterloo