Researchers at Oregon State University will provide data on the use of herbal products, including hemp, to treat covid-19 at a loose virtual event next week, about a year after the publication of a study that found hashish compounds can save it. infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in human cells. Richard van Breemen, a researcher at the Hemp Global Innovation Center, the School of Pharmacy and the Linus Pauling Institute in Oregon State, will lead the presentation, which will be held online Dec. 2. 6.
Van Breeman points out at a university that while herbal products account for a portion of all drugs used lately, herbal drug discovery studies are not a priority for Big Pharma and federal drug investment agencies. Hemp is a rich source of exclusive herbal products. many of which have pharmacological activity.
Earlier this year, van Breemen and a team of researchers found compounds in hemp hash forms that show the ability to prevent SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from entering human cells. The researchers discovered that a pair of cannabinoid acids binds to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, blocking a critical step in the procedure that the virus uses to infect people. in hot spots around the world.
“These cannabinoid acids are abundant in hemp and many hemp extracts,” van Breemen said of the studies. “These are not controlled elements like THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana, and they have an intelligent protective profile in humans. And our studies showed that hemp compounds were equally effective compared to SARS-CoV-2 variants, adding variant B. 1. 1. 7, which was first detected in the UK, and variant B. 1. 351, first detected in South Africa.
Researchers found that two cannabinoid acids found in hemp cannabis forms, cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, also known as CBDA, can bind to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. By binding to the spike protein, the compounds can prevent the virus from entering cells and causing an infection, which could provide new avenues to save it and treat the disease.
“Bioavailable orally and with a long history of human use, these cannabinoids, remotely or in hemp extracts, have the potential to save and treat SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers wrote in a summary of the study.
Van Breeman noted that the compounds in question can be found in hemp, strains of hashish that contain less than 0. 3 percent THC, the psychoactive compound widely linked to marijuana’s ancient “high. “While marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, hemp was legalized with the 2018 Farm Bill, making compounds produced through the plant readily available across the country.
“These cannabinoid acids are abundant in hemp and many hemp extracts,” van Breemen said in January, quoted by local media. “These are controlled elements like THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana, and they have an intelligent protective profile in humans. . “
The spike protein is the same component of the virus that COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapies target. In addition to the spike protein, SARS-CoV-2 has 3 other structural proteins, as well as 16 non-structural proteins and several van Breemen compounds characterized as “accessory” proteins, all of which are potential targets for drugs developed to save you from Covid-19.
Cannabis compounds prevent infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in human cells by binding to the characteristic spike protein.
“Any component of the infection and replication cycle is a potential target for antiviral intervention, and connecting the spike protein receptor binding domain to the human mobile surface receptor ACE2 is a critical step in this cycle,” van Breeman said. Access inhibitors, such as hemp acids, can only be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and also to shorten infections by preventing viral components from infecting human mobile phones. They bind to spike proteins so that those proteins bind to the ACE2 enzyme, which is abundant in the outer membrane of endothelial mobiles of the lungs and other organs.
Van Breeman will share his team’s findings at the university’s Science Pub event next week, which can be attended at the Old World Deli in Corvallis or watched online. The presentation, titled “Natural Products and Hemp: Underestimated Sources of COVID-19 Therapeutics,” is through the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Old World Deli, Oregon State Research Office, and Oregon State University. Registration is required to attend the Science Pub as a user or to view the event online.