This ongoing worldwide pandemic has been a whirlwind of an experience. One thing that’s made it even harder is trying to keep up with the rapidly changing information around best practices in both preventing infection from the novel coronavirus and getting relief when infection occurs.
However, there has been some good news lately, thanks to a breakthrough discovery of something that may have the potential to help with COVID-19 protection and recovery: cannabinoid compounds.
What are Cannabinoid Compounds
Cannabinoid compounds come from the Cannabis sativa plant. There are many different subtypes of cannabinoids, referred to as metabolites. The different metabolites have slightly different chemical structures and can impact the human body in different ways. Although they come from the same family of plants, these compounds are not the same as the THC found in regular cannabis and do not have the same biochemical effects.
Possibilities in Protection and Recovery
Forbes reported that several recent studies have indicated that cannabinoids and some of their metabolites may help prevent COVID-19 infections and improve recovery time if a person does get infected. Researchers believe that specific cannabinoids may prevent the coronavirus from replicating by creating a stress response that produces a specific protein called interferons.
Richard van Breemen, a leading researcher at Oregon State University, has been at the forefront of this research. His research focused on two cannabinoid compounds, cannabigerolic acid, and cannabidiolic acid, also known as CBGA and CBDA. These compounds can bind to the spike proteins in the COVID-19 virus and prevent the virus from entering new cells. Keeping the virus out of new cells has potential for new disease prevention and treatment methods.
Limited research has also been done by a pharmaceutical company authorized to produce a specific CBD product used with patients with a severe seizure disorder. They discovered that there was a lower infection rate amongst patients who had a “medication record,” where they took the pharmaceutical-grade CBD medication.
It’s important to note that these studies focused on using very high-grade CBD products administered in tightly controlled doses by medical professionals. There’s still a lot of research to be completed, and there are still many unknowns about the potential use of CBD and cannabinoids in COVID-19 prevention and treatment. Therefore, you should not assume that using or consuming CBD (or any other cannabis product) will prevent, treat, or cure COVID-19.
What’s Next for Cannabinoids and COVID-19
So far, much of the research has been conducted “in-vitro,” meaning no testing was performed on either humans or animals. Some research has been done using mice, giving them extremely high doses of very high-quality CBD. The pharmaceutical company research has only been done with tightly controlled groups who were already using an FDA-authorized CBD product.
More research, both in test tubes and mice, will still need to be done, but after that, the next likely stage is a limited human trial. These clinical trials will apply the tested principles to human subjects before the results are carefully peer-reviewed and studied by the scientific community.
So while it’s too soon to just go grab a CBD edible from the corner store and call it a day, there is hope that CBD and specific cannabinoids may have a role to play in antiviral research.There is also anticipation that it may serve as a preventative measure alongside others such as boosting your immune system and social distancing.
Should one show interest in trying CBD, Beni Bush provides high quality organic CBD available for purchase.
