In one study, cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis commonly known as CBD, was reported to have stopped the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in mouse and human lung cells. However, caution should be exercised. Indeed, this is only preliminary work for the time being.
SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, is the seventh species of coronavirus known to infect humans. These pathogens, which include SARS-CoV, 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1 and MERS-CoV, cause a range of symptoms from the common cold to more serious conditions. Despite the recent availability of vaccines, Covid is still spreading rapidly, highlighting the need for alternative treatments.
To date, few therapies have been identified to block the replication and viral production of SARS-CoV-2, hence the interest of this study. These results, published in the journal Science Advances, indeed suggest that cannabidiol (CBD) can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in human cells raised in Petri dishes, such as in mice.
Viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, are just genetic material surrounded by a protein coat. These agents affect host cells by hijacking their gene expression machinery to produce copies of themselves, as well as their viral proteins. To investigate how CBD might impact this process, a University of Chicago team led by Dr. Marsha Rosner exposed human lung cells in a petri dish to SARS-CoV-2 and cannabidiol.
According to the results, CBD did not affect the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to enter the cell. On the other hand, the compound would have inhibited the ability of the virus to replicate once inside. The authors emphasize having observed the same effects on three variants of SARS-CoV-2 .
In another experiment, researchers also found that a week-long treatment with CBD helped suppress a SARS-CoV-2 infection at both in the lungs and nasal passages of mice.
These results are also supported by another finding. Reviewing data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, which incorporated the medical records of 1,212 patients consuming medically prescribed CBD to treat their epilepsy, the researchers pointed out that they tested positive for Covid-19 at significantly lower rates compared to those of a matched sample of patients from similar demographic backgrounds who were not taking CBD.
Despite these results, keep in mind that this does not mean that consuming a little CBD will prevent you from catching Covid-19. As the researchers point out, these results should be considered preliminary and CBD certainly does not present itself as a substitute for vaccines and public health measures. They also note that many commercially available CBD products do not offer enough CBD to achieve such results . Their work here was strictly based on compounds offering very high purity.
In other words, "going to the local bakery and buying muffins probably won't do anything “, emphasizes Dr. Rosner. “On the other hand, so far, the results are promising. We are therefore very eager to see clinical trials start ". You have understood it:tests in humans are already planned.
