Cannabis & Covid-19
On Monday 1/10/22, a study published in the Journal Of Natural Products, nearly broke the internet when it reported that compounds derived from the hemp plant inhibited the spread of Covid-19. The world ran with a variety of hilarious translations with headlines such as “Cannabis Cures Corona” and “Prescribe Pot For The Pandemic!” While we enjoyed this frenzy of loose interpretation, we felt obligated to dig a little deeper and share our understanding of the findings. What we found was not as optimistic as the headlines but still very encouraging to the future of medicinal cannabis research. Here’s what we discovered
Researchers at OSU and the Oregon Health and Science University reported that CBDA & CBGA curbed the reproduction of Covid -19 in lab tests. CBDA and CBGA are raw forms of CBD and CBG both of which are grown in high concentration within our friend and yours, the hemp plant.
Research found that these cannabinoids prevented the Covid-19 protein from penetrating human cells by binding to the coronavirus spike protein. At specific concentrations and levels of potency CBDA and CBGA were shown to reduce viral infections by half in tests performed in a petri dish. While this sounds incredibly promising the tests have not been performed on any living thing as of yet. Not even mice. Despite the encouraging results of both studies, petri dishes don’t replicate the complexities of the human body, and as a result, many drug studies done in petri dishes do not translate to effective remedies in humans during clinical trials.
What is CBDA and CBGA
Surely you have heard of CBD and you may have recently seen brands advertise CBG formulations so lets break these down a bit more.
CBDA is the natural precursor to the cannabidiol compound. CBDA is secreted in the stems, leaves and flowers of a cannabis plant. When the plant undergoes activation (decarboxylation) the acidic form decarboxylated CBDA transforms into CBD the active ingredient in most of all of our products. Decarboxylating is the process of heating cannabis.
CBGA is known as cannabigerolic acid and is considered the mother cannabinoid because without it there is no CBD, CBDA, or THC. CBGA compounds are alike other cannabinoids but hasn’t really been studied as much as the others. It’s non-intoxicating and its enzymes are responsible for converting CBGA into molecules such as THCA which is the raw un-activated molecule that converts THC after heat is applied.