CBD is of interest as a Cure for Covid-19 diseases

Whether cannabis - or active substances in the plant - might be effective against the coronavirus that is now maintaining the planet in suspense was already under discussion at the beginning of April. In Germany, too, many research institutions wished to find out as soon as possible how individuals infected with the virus felt after self-treatment using cannabis.

Obviously the anti-inflammatory properties of the compound cannabidiol, abbreviated CBD, seem to match certain standards and raise hopes so that today farther institutions are concentrating their research on the substance extracted from the hemp plant in the struggle against COVID-19. CBD (currently available in Germany e.g. at this organic-certified CBD store) is at the interest of a remedy against COVID-19 diseases.

Olga and Igor Kovalchuk from the Canadian University of Lethbridge happen to be working on cannabis research since 2015 and have collected different varieties worldwide where new kinds and extracts are derived. These goods have demonstrated certain curative properties before. Now, due to this global pandemic, the two researchers have looked at the results of their work and are convinced that they have found promising strategies in the struggle against the coronavirus. They have begun to examine the special proteins and receptors which the virus regulates in order to enter the body.

Because of this, a research paper has been submitted in which the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19 have been researched. The Kovalchuks say that, based on the preliminary information and pending further research, anti-inflammatory cannabis extracts high CBD content can modulate receptor levels in exceptionally relevant tissues such as the lungs, mouth, and intestinal cells. It has been established that among the receptors, called ACE2, is an integral portal whereby the COVID 19 virus enters the body.

'The virus has the power to bind into it and pull into the cell, nearly like through a doorway,' clarifies Olga Kovalchuk on the Calgary News Portal CTV.

While other key receptors also permit viruses to easily enter different cells and multiply rapidly, a few cannabis extracts help reduce inflammation and slow active viruses. 'Imagine a mobile is a big building,' says Igor Kovalchuk.

'Cannabinoids decrease the number of doors in the building by approximately 70 percent, meaning that access is severely limited. So you've got a better likelihood of fighting it,' he adds.

Early findings indicate that cannabis extracts from inhalers, mouthwashes, and throat rinses could be used either in clinical practice and to get home treatment. On the other hand, the 2 researchers also worry that their data derive from human tissue versions and the next step would be to conduct clinical trials, which Igor Kovalchuk says is actively attempting to do.

Though the Canadian study was started in collaboration with just two firms active in the cannabis industry, a hospital in Israel is carrying out similar analyses by itself. At the Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, they wish to inquire into the impact of cannabidiol on patients with symptoms of COVID-19 disorder and expect that the anti-inflammatory properties of this chemical will prove useful in the struggle against the virus. The study is being conducted in cooperation with lots of hospital wards and is expected to demand dozens of moderately affected patients.

Dr. Barak Cohen, leader anaesthesiologist and the mind of corona management in Ichilov, in addition to the initiator of the study, emphasized:'This is a novel method of treating a number of these emerging symptoms using a part of the cannabis plant that is deemed safe to use and certainly not addictive'.

The research aims to investigate if the major active ingredient of cannabis - cannabidiol (especially in the kind of the easily dosed fullspec cbd oils) - can slow down the inflammatory process linked to the deterioration of the health of seriously ill coronavirus patients and alleviate the symptoms of this disease.