Can cannabis cause inflammation?

However, frequent marijuana use causes inadequate activation of CB1, which can cause inflammation and atherosclerosis, and is associated with obesity, cancer and diabetes.

Cannabis

has long been credited with anti-inflammatory properties. However, researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered that it is not only known psychoactive substances that are responsible for this, but that a compound that we ingest every day in plant nutrients also plays an important role. Cannabis compounds, in some cases through the endocannabinoid system, have been shown to affect some of the pillars of chronic inflammation.

However, in light of the large number of active molecules produced by cannabis and their interactions, sometimes synergistic, it is necessary to better specify treatments based on cannabis and active compounds, while using the synergy identified between phytomolecules in cannabis. Therefore, even if CBD or THC are considered to be potentially leading molecules, additional cannabis-derived compounds can be selected to improve their activity. The preparation of CASe from a cannabis strain balanced with 5— 10% THC and 5— 11% CBD also produced significant levels of Δ9-THC only when CASe was prepared in a medium containing 30% MeOH. However, the net effects of cannabis smoke on respiratory health and, in particular, on inflammation, remain largely unknown, and these findings are often complicated by concurrent tobacco use in human participants.

Although current studies suggest that cannabinoids are useful therapeutic agents in the treatment of various inflammatory disorders, a deeper evaluation of the mechanisms that explain their anti-inflammatory properties is necessary. There has been a rapid increase in the number of countries legalizing cannabis for recreational and medicinal purposes. The neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol in an in vitro model of hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in newborns in mice is mediated by CB (and adenosine) receptors. Because astrocytes express CB1 and CB2 receptors, several studies investigated the inhibitory role of cannabinoids in this cell population in the context of MS.

It is important to note that, once the mode of action of phytocannabinoids and their combination are known, APIs could target mechanisms related to inflammation. The involvement of the endogenous cannabinoid system in modulating the acute phase of DNBS-induced colitis was further supported by the increase in the levels of transcripts encoding CB1 in wild-type mice following the induction of inflammation. A THCA-rich fraction of the cannabis strain was shown to have a higher activity against inflammation than the crude extract (Nallathambi et al. Different methods of extracting cannabis sativa result in different biological activities against a colon cancer cell line and healthy colon cells.

In multiple experimental models, both in vitro and in vivo, several phytocannabinoids, including Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), show activity against inflammation. Endocannabinoids include N-arachidonoylethanolamine, anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), N-arachidonoyldopamine, noladine ether and virodhamine.