Study: THCA has “Potent Neuroprotective Activity”
According to a new study, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THCA) has potent neuroprotective activity which may help treat Huntington´s Disease and other neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases.
(Photo: Leafly)
“Phytocannabinoids are produced in Cannabis sativa L. in acidic form and are decarboxylated upon heating, processing, and storage”, states the abstract of the study, published by the British Journal of Pharmacology and the U.S. National Institute of Health. “While the biological effects of decarboxylated cannabinoids such as Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 -THC) have been extensively investigated, the bioactivity of Δ9 -THCA is largely unknown, despite its occurrence in different Cannabis preparations.” The aim of this study “was to determine whether Δ9 -THCA modulates the PPARγ pathway and has neuroprotective activity”.
For the study; “The effects of six phytocannabinoids on PPARγ binding and transcriptional activity were investigated.” In doing so, researchers found that;
Cannabinoid acids bind and activate PPARγ with higher potency than their decarboxylated products. Δ9 -THCA increases mitochondrial mass in neuroblastoma N2a cells, and prevents cytotoxicity induced by serum deprivation in STHdhQ111/Q111 cells and by mutHtt-q94 in N2a cells. Δ9 -THCA, through a PPARγ-dependent pathway, was neuroprotectant in mice intoxicated with 3-NP, improving motor deficits and preventing striatal degeneration. In addition, Δ9 -THCA attenuated microgliosis, astrogliosis and the upregulation of proinflammatory markers induced by 3-NP.
The study concludes by stating ;”Δ9 -THCA shows potent neuroprotective activity, worth consideration for the treatment of Huntington´s Disease and possibly other neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases.”
Th full study and its abstract, conducted by researchers in Spain, the U.S. and Italy, can be found by clicking here.