A new study recently published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, has found that marijuana’s anti-inflammatory effects could be bolstered by non-cannabinoid compounds in the plant called terpenoids.
As part of the study, researchers in Israel extracted oils rich in terpenoids from three marijuana varieties and tested them on cells and in mice.
The first experiment revealed that compounds partly suppress the production of free radicals associated with inflammation. The second experiment, in mice, revealed “moderate anti-inflammatory activities.”
The study also found that the terpenoids did not seem to be as effective as purified CBD when the researchers compared them.
“Different chemotypes of cannabis have a distinctive composition of terpenoids,” the researchers wrote. “These essential oils do have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities that vary according to their composition, but they had no effect on TNFa titers [antibodies].”
“We suggest that terpenoids may be used to diminute acute inflammation effect, whereas the cannabinoids to inhibit chronic inflammation symptoms,” they added.
