The mechanism of combating coronavirus infection with the help of therapeutically active cannabinoid acids
The information published in the “Journal of Natural Products“ and provided below partially provides a theoretical justification for the developments that have been successfully applied for the treatment of COVID-19 over the past 2 years with the help of therapeutically active elements of the technical hemp of the Mriya national variety.
On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of national hemp growers, the attention of our respected readers and listeners was focused on the fact that the precursors of cannabinoids - "Cannabinoid acids " have an order of magnitude more powerful therapeutic properties than their derivatives. To listeners of several streams ” Cannabis University”examples of prevention, as well as treatment of various stages of coronavirus infection, developed by national specialists and, unfortunately, effectively used outside the territory of our country, were demonstrated. The information published in the “Journal of Natural Products“ and provided below partially provides a theoretical justification for the developments that have been successfully applied for the treatment of COVID-19 over the past 2 years with the help of therapeutically active elements of the technical hemp of the Mriya national variety.
Research by Oregon State University scientists led by Richard van Breemen, a scientist at the Oregon Global Cannabis Innovation Center, the College of Pharmacy, and the Linus Pauling Institute, demonstrates the ability of certain therapeutically active elements in cannabis to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells.
A pair of cannabinoid acids (CBGA - cannabigerolic and CBDA - cannabidiolic) have been found to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, blocking a critical step in the process the virus uses to infect humans.
“These cannabinoid acids are found in abundance in hemp,” says Mr. van Bremen. “They are not controlled substances like THC and have a good safety profile in humans. Our study has shown that cannabis compounds are equally effective against different variants of SARS-CoV-2, including B.1.1.7, first discovered in the United Kingdom, and B.1.351, found in South Africa.”
“SARS-CoV-2 is characterized by crown-like protrusions on the outer surface and contains strands of RNA that encode for its four main structural proteins - spike, envelope, membrane and nucleocapsid, as well as 16 non-structural proteins and several “auxiliary” proteins. Any part of the infection cycle, as well as its spread, is a potential target for antiviral intervention, and the connection of the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein to the human cell surface ACE2 receptor is a critical step in this cycle, ”says the American scientist. “This means that cellular entry inhibitors (paralyzers), such as cannabinoid acids, can be used to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2, as well as to reduce the time of infection by preventing virus particles from infecting human cells. They bind to spike proteins, so these proteins cannot interact with the ACE2 enzyme, which is abundant on the outer membrane of endothelial cells in the lungs and other organs.”
"These compounds can be taken orally and have a history of safe human use for thousands of years," says Mr. van Breemen. “They have huge potential to prevent as well as treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
“One of the main problems during a pandemic is the spread of various variants of coronavirus infection, of which there are many, and B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 are among the most dangerous,” the scientist adds. “These strains of COVID-19 are well known for evading early-line SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, which is a concern given that current vaccination strategies rely on the early-line spike protein as an antigen. Our data show that CBDA and CBGA are effective against several strains of coronavirus infection.”
Van Breemen, Ruth Muchiro of the College of Pharmacy and the Linus Pauling Institute, and five scientists from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) identified two cannabinoid acids using a mass spectrometry-based screening method invented in van Breemen's lab. In studies, laboratory tests have shown that cannabigerolic and cannabidiolic acids prevent infection of human epithelial cells with the coronavirus spike protein and prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering cells.
Experiments conducted by American scientists proving the effectiveness of the use of cannabinoid acids for the prevention and treatment of coronavirus infection once again demonstrate the relevance of the concept promoted by the profile association of national cannabis growers, which consists in the need to regulate the possibility of legal cultivation, as well as the use of therapeutic properties of technical hemp for therapeutic purposes by citizens of our country.