CBD May Be A More Effective Anti-Inflammatory Than Regular Medication

The non-psychoactive substance CBD (cannabidiol) is increasing in popularity. The cannabinoid is often sold in oil form and administered for all kinds of ailments. But is the substance really that effective? Israeli researchers compared the effectiveness of CBD in swelling and inflammation with regular medication and a complete cannabinoid extract.

The anti-inflammatory cannabinoid CBD (cannabidiol) is widely discussed. As the substance grows in popularity, more research is being done into it. One of the main reasons for its increasing popularity is that users do not experience psychoactive effects (high or stoned feeling) as is the case with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This study - carried out by the Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology - measures the difference in effectiveness between administering an isolated CBD extract and administering a cannabinoid extract containing a complete cannabinoid profile.

Materials Used: Plants, Animals and Extracts

The pure, isolated CBD extract for this study comes from THC Pharm. GmbH from Frankfurt. For the complete cannabis extract, the buds of clone 202 were used. This median Avidekel variety comes from the Tikun Olam Company, which has been approved by the Israeli government. The CBD-rich marijuana buds were finely ground and extracted with ethanol (alcohol) for the purpose of this investigation. The two extracts were both orally administered and injected into the (ethically sound) laboratory mice of Hadassah Medical School for this research.

To compare the effectiveness of synthetic and herbal medication, the researchers administered commercial pain medication such as aspirin and tramadol to a control group of mice. The study was conducted on 10-12 mice per treatment group. Using the usual lab equipment, the effectiveness of the treatments on the mice was observed by measuring swelling and pain. The study results clearly show that complete cannabis extracts from the raw plant are medicinally more effective than using an isolated CBD extract.

In the graphs below, a CBD extract is compared to a complete cannabis extract of a CBD-rich type of weed. All results indicate that CBD only has an effect against swelling and pain at a certain dosage, but the effect of the complete cannabis extract increases when increasing the dosage.

Injections

An injection of the CBD extract proved slightly effective at 5mg/kg but lost efficacy in increasing the dosage. The shape of the graph shows a bell curve, which means that the CBD formula lost its effect after a certain dosage. The results of the complete cannabinoid extract show that the synergistic action of the cannabinoids provides more relief as the dosage is increased. A desirable effect in medication.

Oral Consumption

In this form of medication, the effects of the CBD extract and the entire cannabis extract are extremely similar to those of the injections. Graph C shows that the effectiveness of CBD treatment peaks at 25mg/kg, and loses its effect when increasing the dosage. The complete plant extract brought more relief from inflammation and pain for the mice when increasing the dosage. With medication, it is important that the effect reflects on the dosage; after all, each patient is different and needs unique treatment based on, for example, tolerance.

Measuring TNFa Levels

TNFα is one of two tumor necrosis factors and forms a subgroup of the cytokines that can cause cell death or cell survival. Cytokine is a molecule that plays a role in immune defence and activation of certain receptors in the body. The production of TNFα stimulates the inflammatory response in the body.

Overproduction of TNFα has been associated with a number of diseases including cancer. The graphs below show how effective the administration of CBD and a complete cannabis extract is in reducing swelling and suppressing TNFα production.

Again, results show that CBD is only effective at a specific dose (25mg/kg), while the complete cannabinoid profile in the other plant extract can suppress TNFα production to extremely low levels as the dose increases.

Cannabis Compared To Other Medications

The last graph shows the results of the effectiveness of the CBD extract and the complete cannabis extract compared to that of regular medication such as tramadol and aspirin. Aspirin showed a slightly perceptible effect in reducing swelling. Tramadol, on the other hand, was hardly effective in this treatment.

Both cannabis extracts ensured that the swelling in the mice did not increase compared to the treatment with regular medication. Both tramadol and aspirin turned out to be better in direct pain relief, but CBD and the complete cannabis extract caused remarkable suppression of TNFα production that was not affected by the regular medication. Cannabis apparently has medical values that are not reflected in regular anti-inflammatory drugs.

Cannabinoid Synergy More Effective Against Swelling

Meanwhile, several studies prove the medical value of the different cannabinoids. But this study proves the importance of a complete cannabinoid profile in your meds. Researchers Gallily, Yekhtim and Hanus - the authors of this study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - conclude that cannabinoid extracts, especially cannabidiol, can be more effective in treating inflammation than the medication currently provided by pharmacies.

Research site: https://www.scirp.org/html/5-2500582_53912.htm