Cannabinol protects against neurodegenerative diseases

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with changes in various tissues, not just in the brain, so the fact that cannabinol is able to support mitochondrial function suggests that it will not only have more benefits in the context of Alzheimer's disease treatment, but will most likely become an extremely effective treatment for treatment of a number of other neurodegenerative diseases.

Over the past few years, the editors of the specialized electronic publication of national hemp growers have focused on the fact that, despite the prevalence of cannabidiol therapeutically active elements on the market, more and more attention is paid to other drug-free cannabinoids, in particular cannabinol. It should be noted that the market for various kinds of goods, which include cannabinol, has increased significantly over the past few years, which predetermined the attention of various research and scientific structures to it.

Back in 2013, when describing the “ Active components of technical hemp ”, we raised the question that cannabinol (Cannabinol, CBN) has a sedative, antibiotic effect. In 2015, it was pointed out that “ CBD is an effective medicine ”, and in 2019, attention was focused on “ Cannabinol, as an element of hemp with significant therapeutic properties ”. Therefore, it is not surprising that the studies of our colleagues studying the possibilities of using plant cannabinol for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases have attracted our attention and we would like to share the results of their conduct with our esteemed readers and listeners.

Pioneering research has shown that cannabinol, one of the therapeutic compounds in cannabis, has the potential to help prevent and treat age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. In particular, a group of researchers from the US Salk Institute for Biological Studies conducted a series of tests, finding that CBN protects nerve cells from oxidative damage, an essential factor in cell death. According to scientists from California, their findings may help develop new methods that use natural cannabinol to mitigate the effects of a number of neurodegenerative diseases.

Senior author of the experiments, Pamela Maher, Research Professor and Director of the Cellular Neuroscience Laboratory at the Salk Institute, states that “We found that cannabinol protects neurons from oxidative stress and cell death, the two main causes of Alzheimer's disease. This discovery may one day lead to the development of new therapeutics for this disease and other neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease."

In the ongoing experiments, the team of scientists studied the process of oxytosis, also known as ferroptosis, which is believed to occur in the aging brain and can cause Alzheimer's disease. Oxytosis can be caused by a gradual loss of the antioxidant glutathione, leading to nerve cell damage and death as a result of lipid oxidation. American scientists in the course of the experiments injected cannabinol into nerve cells, and then injected an agent to stimulate oxidative damage.

The results showed that CBN works by protecting the mitochondria that feed the cells inside neurons; Oxidation causes mitochondria to curl up like donuts in damaged cells, a change seen in the aging cells of people with Alzheimer's. Cannabinol treatment prevented this with the mitochondria and also allowed them to continue to function properly. To confirm their findings, the team repeated the experiment on nerve cells without mitochondria; here cannabinol no longer showed its protective effect.

"We were able to directly show that maintenance of mitochondrial function was particularly necessary for the protective effects of the compound," says Ms. Maher.

Zhibin Liang, the first author of the study and a researcher at the Salk Institute's Cellular Neuroscience Laboratory, commented on the findings as follows: "CBN is not a controlled substance, and the findings demonstrate that cannabinol is safe for animals and humans. Because cannabinol works independently of cannabinoid receptors, CBN can also work in a wide variety of cells with broad therapeutic potential.”

Ms. Maher concludes from her research that “Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with changes in various tissues, not just the brain, so the fact that this naturally occurring non-narcotic cannabinoid is able to support mitochondrial function suggests that it will have more benefits than only in the context of the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but is also likely to become an extremely effective treatment for a number of other neurodegenerative diseases."

Commentary of the specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”

Previous research by Ms. Maher's team has demonstrated that cannabinol has neuroprotective properties, and the above research sheds light on how CBN works to protect brain cells from damage and death.