Cannabinoids could help against COVID-19

Since the begin­ning of the pan­dem­ic, researchers have been search­ing for pos­si­ble pre­ven­tive mea­sures and ther­a­pies against COVID infec­tions. A study con­duct­ed by Breemen and his research team (Breemen et al. 2022, Jour­nal of Nat­ur­al Prod­ucts) has now attract­ed media atten­tion. Using human epithe­lial cells, they were able to show that pre­cur­sors of CBD and CBG were effec­tive against the SARS-CoV­‑2 virus and its vari­ants. These are CBGA (cannabigerolic acid) and CBDA (cannabid­i­olic acid), which are com­po­nents of the hemp plant and have no psy­choac­tive effects. “The cannabi­noids have a long his­to­ry of safe use in humans and have the poten­tial to pre­vent and treat SARS-CoV­‑2 infec­tions,” the experts said.

Rising number of evidence-based studies grants safety in hemp plant

The num­ber of stud­ies in the con­text of the hemp plant and COVID-19 con­tin­ues to increase. Kho­dada­di and his team of researchers con­clud­ed as ear­ly as 2020 that CBD as part of Coro­n­a’s treat­ment can help pro­tect lung tis­sue and restore phys­i­cal bal­ance (Kho­dada­di et al. 2020, Cannabis Cannabi­noid Research). Crip­pa et al. 2021 took a dif­fer­ent approach, see­ing CBD as an oppor­tu­ni­ty to improve peo­ple’s men­tal health dur­ing the pandemic.

Corona as a permanent mental stressor

Men­tal health com­plaints such as anx­i­ety, stress, and depres­sion have increased since the spring of 2020, accord­ing to a NAKO (Nation­al Cohort) health study with 113,928 par­tic­i­pants (Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 2020). The sit­u­a­tion remains chal­leng­ing — espe­cial­ly for health care work­ers. Crip­pa et al.‘s study demon­strat­ed that CBD ther­a­py can reduce symp­toms of burnout and emo­tion­al exhaus­tion in indi­vid­u­als in health­care pro­fes­sions (Crip­pa et al., 2022, Jour­nal of Nat­ur­al Prod­ucts). Oth­er data sup­port the ther­a­peu­tic val­ue of CBD for improv­ing sleep qual­i­ty and for depres­sion, which is often asso­ci­at­ed with anx­i­ety. (O’Sul­li­van, 2021, Cannabis and Cannabi­noid Research).

More wellness, but not a substitute for Corona protections

CBD prod­ucts are not mir­a­cle cures and do not replace covid pro­tec­tive mea­sures. How­ev­er, promis­ing adjuncts to vac­cines and covid ther­a­peu­tics are being sought to treat or pre­vent infec­tions from SARS-CoV2 and its var­i­ous vari­ants. CBD nasal sprays, in par­tic­u­lar, could be one such tool. Their dis­rup­tion of infec­tion path­ways is promis­ing, as they not only sup­port the phys­i­cal bar­ri­er of the nasal mucosa. For more phys­i­cal and emo­tion­al well-being, CBD prod­ucts or CBD oils also pro­vide in com­bi­na­tion with ortho­mol­e­c­u­lar spe­cial for­mu­las in terms of a holis­tic solu­tion concept.