Curative leaf
Compound in marijuana reduces inflammation without the psychological effects
By Amy Maxmen
Mary Jane’s got more goodness in her buds than Cheech or Chong ever imagined. A compound found to ease swelling, pain and inflammation has now been extracted from marijuana. The compound, structurally different from anti-inflammatory medications now on the market, provides new avenues for drug development to help those who suffer from diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease, a new study reports. And unlike THC, the other Cannabis compound with a similar anti-inflammatory outcome, this chemical has nothing to do with feeling high.
“We were stunned to find a totally different compound within the same plant with anti-inflammatory properties,” says Jürg Gertsch, a biologist at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Zürich, Switzerland, and lead researcher on the study, published June 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The team extracted the compound, called beta-caryophyllene, from oily resin in Cannabis sativa L. buds and fed it to mice that were in the midst of an induced immune attack. After the mice ate the extract, their inflammation went down. The team then demonstrated that beta-caryophyllene works by turning on CB2 cannabinoid receptors, molecules that THC acts on and that are also known to reduce swelling, pain and inflammation.
THC works its anti-inflammatory magic by activating both CB2 and CB1 receptor molecules; CB1 receptors are concentrated in the brain and lead to the psychological effects of marijuana. Beta-caryophyllene, however, has little or no effect on CB1 and, therefore, might be used to ease inflammation without the psychological side effects, the authors suggest.