Study: Cannabis Terpenoids “Exert Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Activities in Vitro and in Vivo”
Terpenoids derived from cannabis “exert anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in vitro and in vivo”, according to a new study published by the National Institute of Health.
“Cannabinoids are well known to have anti-inflammatory effects in mammalians; however, the Cannabis plant also contains other compounds such as terpenoids, whose biological effects have not yet been characterized”, states the abstract of the study, which was conducted by researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. With this in mind, the aim of this study “was to compare the anti-inflammatory properties of terpenoids with those of cannabidiol (CBD).”
For the study “Essential oils prepared from three monoecious nonpsychoactive chemotypes of Cannabis were analyzed for their terpenoid content and subsequently studied pharmacologically for their anti-inflammatory properties in vitro and in vivo.”
In vitro, “the three essential oils rich in terpenoids partly inhibited reactive oxygen intermediate and nitric oxide radical (NO•) production in RAW 264.7 stimulated macrophages.” The three terpenoid-rich oils “exerted moderate anti-inflammatory activities in an in vivo anti-inflammatory model without affecting tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) serum levels.”
In their conclusion, researchers state that “The different Cannabis chemotypes showed distinct compositions of terpenoids. The terpenoid-rich essential oils exert anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in vitro and in vivo, which vary according to their composition.”
Despite the apparent effectiveness of terpenoids, “None of the essential oils was as effective as purified CBD. In contrast to CBD that exerts prolonged immunosuppression and might be used in chronic inflammation, the terpenoids showed only a transient immunosuppression and might thus be used to relieve acute inflammation.”
For more information on this study, click here.
Chuck Sanderson
This is more evidence that marijuana is likely much better for pain related medical issues than CBD by itself. I have arthritis and tried a few different brands of CBD and did not receive any relief from pain. However, it did seem to help me sleep better at night. I found this site to be a good source of information about most of the popular brands of CBD https://cbdrevu.com/ I am now in the medical marijuana program in my state and I buy medical marijuana strains that have high levels of CBD and lower levels of THC. This seems to genuinely help the pain. It could be what is referred to as the ‘Entourage Effect”…the idea being that you can’t isolate one cannabinoids and expect miracles. Possibly all of the various cannabinoids AND TERPENES working together with the other cannabinoids works best. This is what seems to help me.