http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/59195471.html
Marijuana Has Anti-Inflammatory That Won't Get You High
Richard A. Lovett
for National Geographic News
June 24, 2008
A compound in marijuana may be a potent anti-inflammatory agent that
won't get people high, scientists say.
The finding could be a boon to sufferers of arthritis, cirrhosis, and
other diseases. Existing drugs can be less effective for some people
and can carry side effects, from stomach ulcers to increased risk of
heart attacks.
Marijuana sup****ters have long argued that the plant's active
ingredients, known as cannabinoids, are safe and effective treatments
for pain, nausea, and other ailments.
The most active cannabinoid=97delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC=97is
known to have anti-inflammatory properties. But it is also responsible
for the plant's psychotropic effects.
Now researchers say that another cannabinoid, called beta-
caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, helps combat inflammation without affecting
the brain.
(E)-BCP is already part of many people's daily diets, the researchers
note. Foods that are particularly high in the compound include black
pepper, oregano, basil, lime, cinnamon, carrots, and celery.
Essential oils from cannabis plants=97whose leaves and flowers are used
to make the marijuana drug=97contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP.
But even after decades of cannabis research, scientists hadn't
previously known that the compound had anti-inflammatory properties.
"This is because the focus was on the classical cannabinoids [rather
than (E)-BCP]," said lead study author J=FCrg Gertsch of the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology.
Lone Receptor
Cannabinoids in marijuana are known to primarily affect two of the
many molecular receptors in the human body.
The CB1 receptor is found in the brain and central nervous system and
is responsible for the high people experience when they smoke pot.
The other receptor, called CB2, is found in tissues in the rest of the
body and triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions that can help
combat inflammation.
"Our interest is to exploit the pharmacological nature of the CB2
receptor," because it does not have psychotropic side effects, Gertsch
explained in an email.
"Targeting the CB2 receptor could be a therapeutic strategy to prevent
or treat diseases like Crohn's disease [inflammation of the intestinal
tract], liver cirrhosis, osteoarthritis, and atherosclerosis."
THC activates both receptors, so it won't alleviate inflammation
without also making people high.
But (E)-BCP affects only the CB2 receptor, according to the new study,
which appears in today's issue of the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
As part of their research, the scientists engineered a strain of mice
that lacked the CB2 receptor. The team then fed the modified mice and
normal mice a diet rich in (E)-BCP.
When the scientists induced inflammation with chemicals, normal mice
experienced an anti-inflammatory effect while the genetically
engineered mice did not.
"This experiment shows that the anti-inflammatory effects are mediated
via the CB2 receptor," Gertsch said.
=2E..
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Luke
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