Research claims compounds found in cannabis could reverse disease that affects one-third of adults
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
New research has revealed that compounds found in cannabis could help treat a disorder that impacts millions of adults.
Whether you hate it, love it, or are totally impartial to it – there's no denying that cannabis has some uses.
From calming some people down to helping to provide relief from chronic pain, its medicinal properties are not yet fully explored.
Even though cannabis is legalized in as many as 24 US states to use recreationally, as well as medicinal purposes, there are still some legal repercussions for those who illegally obtain the drug.
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But according to researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, there is another benefit to the plant, but not in the way you might think.
The research, which was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, found that cannabidiol (its non-psychoactive CBD compound) and cannabigerol (CBG) work to significantly reduce liver fat and also improve overall metabolic health in its test subjects.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects around one-third of the global adult population, according to studies published in the National Institute of Health.
You might not know this, but CBD and CBG are not the compounds that get you high, which is the THC.
Instead, they can be used to calm and soothe people with conditions like anxiety or sleep problems.
But now, it has been found to improve liver function by changing how the organ manages energy and cleans itself.
“Our findings identify a new mechanism by which CBD and CBG enhance hepatic energy and lysosomal function,” lead study author Joseph Tam, director of the Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research at Hebrew University, said.
This occurs through a ‘metabolic remodeling’ process, which sees the compounds increase phosphocreatine, a molecule found in muscle cells.
This improves its ability to withstand strain, as well as increase, the cathepsins enzymes that cleans out harmful toxins.
However, the researchers highlighted that further research is needed to understand how these findings can best be applied to humans.
But if you think you can smoke weed and feel the same benefits, you'd be mistaken as a major warning has been issued to users.
A study by McMaster University, which was published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, revealed that THC could be linked with depressive disorders.
“We see that Canadians who use cannabis tend to be more likely to meet criteria for anxiety and depressive disorders, and more likely to report suicidality,” said Jillian Halladay, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing at McMaster.
They warned: “It’s important for people to recognize when and how their cannabis use may be impacting their mental health, and how their mental health may be influencing their cannabis use.”