New Laboratory Study Shows COVID-19 Infection Prevented by Cannabis Compounds

A recently published laboratory study in the Journal of Nature Products (1) revealed that cannabis compounds prevented the COVID-19 virus from penetrating healthy human cells.

Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), two compounds commonly found in hemp, were identified during a chemical screening effort as having potential to fight the coronavirus (2). Researchers from Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon), bound the two compounds, CBGA and CBDA, to the spike proteins found on the virus and showed success in blocking a step the pathogen uses to infect people.

In this study, researchers tested both compounds effect against the alpha and beta variants of the virus in a laboratory. The study did not include providing the supplements to participants or comparing infection rates in those who use the cannabis compounds to those who don’t.

“These compounds can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans,” said Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center. “They have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2,” he said in a statement (2).

As more research with cannabis begins to unfold, it is showing potential as a valuable tool in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

References

1. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00946
2. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-12/cannabis-compounds-prevented-covid-infection-in-laboratory-study