The number of people affected by Covid is growing, but so is the scientific knowledge about the virus! And good news: data and studies are beginning to emerge suggesting that cannabidiol (or CBD) may help prevent or treat COVID-19. Some researchers are advocating for more clinical studies to be conducted.
Lately, if there is a plant species on which scientists have been studying its therapeutic powers, it is cannabis(Cannabis sativa) and its non-psychotropic version: hemp. Researchers are focusing in particular on the family of cannabinoids, the best known of which are THC and CBD, and for which the list of pharmacological properties is getting long!
A scientific study conducted by the Linus-Pauling Institute team in Oregon and the Oregon State University of Science and Medicine was published in Journal of Nature Products. The results are clear: some of the components of hemp could be effective against the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Hemp contains acids that prevent SARS-Cov-2 from entering healthy cells.
As reported by the newspaper Le Point in its article on the subject, these two acids, cannabigerolic acid (or CBGA) and cannabidiolic acid (or CBDA), are said to be effective in combating certain variants, especially the Alpha and Beta variants.
CBDA and CBGA: what are they?
CBDA is a component present in the cannabis plant, it is in fact the initial form of CBD. It is essential to its constitution, simply when the cannabis plant grows, the so-called cannabinoid molecules are in the form of CBDA. They are then transformed into CBD once the dried plant has been heated to over 120 degrees. The CBD is now in an active form and no longer acidic.
CBDA and CBGA are part of the list of 120 molecules found in hemp and of the list of active principles that give this plant its recognised therapeutic properties. They are non-psychoactive cannabinoids
"CBDA and CBGA are not controlled substances like THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and they have a good safety profile in humans.
Richard van Breemen, Global Hemp Innovation Center, Oregon
According to the published study, these active ingredients in hemp and cannabis allow :
-prevent the virus that causes Covid-19 from entering healthy human cells,
- or on an already infected person, to limit the spread of the virus.
A barrier effect?
The principle is simple: CBGA and CBDA block a step that the pathogen uses to infect people by binding to spike proteins on the virus.
To understand this principle, imagine two pieces of a puzzle that fit together. One of these two pieces is one of the virus' leading proteins, which by its very nature seeks to bind to another "piece". The second piece is the receptor on the membrane of a human cell. When these two puzzle pieces match, it creates a fusion between the cell membrane and the virus.
According to the American study, CBGA and CBDA bind to the chemical receptors of the virus, thus preventing it from fusing with human cells and thus contaminating them or spreading.
"CBDA and CBGA have the potential to prevent as well as treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Richard van Breemen
The power is in the nature
The study assumes that the most powerful medicines come from nature. Since 1981, two thirds of new drugs are natural products or derivatives. For these researchers, the potential of certain natural molecules is unexplored, and therefore their benefits untapped!
For this reason, a range of molecules present in plants were analysed to study their impact on the spread of the Covid virus:
- red clover,
- wild yam,
- hops,
- liquorice,
- ...
An element present in round turmeric has been identified as having positive effects against SARS-Cov-2 (both during the early phase of infection and the spread of the virus). But it was cannabis that showed the highest affinity with the virus' peak protein.
Moving from good lab results to clinical trials ?
Marsha Rosner, a professor at the University of Chicago, conducted another experiment, based on the administration of small doses of highly purified CBD. The laboratory results show that these doses of CBD actually stop the reproduction of the Covid virus in healthy cells.
Many researchers support clinical trials on the impact of cannabidiol on the spread or infection of cells by the Covid virus.
Anti-inflammatory properties and immune system activated
The links between CBD and its beneficial effects on reducing inflammation and activating the immune system had already been made by the scientific community.
In fact, this was one of the reasons why Marsha Rosner, the lead author of the study cited, had decided to analyze the effects of CBD on what has been mediatized as "the cytokine storm" to refer to the intense infection caused by Covid, in severe cases.
"CBD has anti-inflammatory effects, so we thought it might stop the second phase of Covid-19 infection involving the immune system, the so-called 'cytokine storm'. Surprisingly, it directly inhibited viral replication in lung cells.
Marsha Rosner, lead author of the study, in a release.
The explanation? CBD is said to be a good regulator of stress and inflammatory response, which allows :
- reduce a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines ,
- and increase the production of interferons, a type of protein that activates immune cells.
That said, even if the scientific conclusions converge towards an identified therapeutic interest of CBD on the propagation of the Covid virus, it should be noted that it is essential to use controlled, purified products with a known composition.
Product quality and requirements
This is why, at Naturalpes, the quality of our products is our first requirement. And it is also for this reason that we are vigilant on the seriousness of our sources, we document ourselves only in the scientific literature and with the official media in France (Le Point, Futurama, ...).
Since the beginning of the epidemic, we have been studying the beneficial effects of CBD and we believe in the power of nature and quality. This is why we have developed the RAW range, which is a set of oils that are minimally processed compared to what is found in nature and therefore contain all the molecules naturally present in cannabis, including CBDA and CBGA.
This form of oil has not been heated and therefore decarboxylated and is still completely identical to the plant harvested in the wild and then simply dried.
This range is about raw CBD oil extractions. This means that after this step (which is the first in our process for oils), the resulting oil still contains :
- all the chlorophyll,
- all fats,
- all waxes
- and all the sugars in the plant.
We offer 2 oils containing these active ingredients in acid form: Raw 5% & Raw 13%.