Medically reviewed by Susan Kerrigan, MD and Marianne Madsen on February 8, 2022
In the two years since the novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China, numerous novel—but ultimately ineffective—treatments have been tried. Early in the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, and convalescent plasma were routinely mentioned as possible therapies. Extensive testing eventually showed they were no better at helping patients infected with COVID-19 than placebos. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Association ended their authorization of the oft-touted monoclonal antibody treatments, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, which are administered together with REGEN-COV, due to their ineffectiveness with the viral variant—the highly contagious Omicron.
Unfortunately, all of the vaccines currently authorized in the U.S. face a similar obstacle, forcing public health officials to walk back their advocacy for the shots from initially saying they protected against infection and viral spread to admitting that at best they will probably keep the vaccinated out of the hospital. Although boosters improve the vax’s protection, ten weeks after the FDA’s approval for an extra shot in the arm, just 41.5% of the country’s fully vaccinated population has rolled up their sleeves.
All of the above suggests that people remain hungry for a safe, effective way of preventing or treating COVID-19. Recently, researchers discovered the surprising way a trio of cannabis compounds shut down the virus’s spread. What are they and how do they work?
Spiking the Virus
Researchers hoping to prevent COVID-19 infections quickly focused on the same viral vulnerability. Also known as SARS-CoV-2, the virus’s RNA strands encode four primary structural proteins: envelope, membrane, nucleocapsid, and its distinctive spikes. Although interfering with any of those can inhibit its ability to spread, the drug target for both vaccines and treatments has been its spike proteins. This is because, as the leader of a recently published study, Richard van Breemen, explains, “…the connection of the spike protein’s receptor binding domain to the human cell surface receptor ACE2 is a critical step [in the cycle of infection.]”
Researchers at Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy, and Linus Pauling Institute used a chemical screening technique invented at the school to see which compounds were most effective at keeping the virus from entering human cells. Researchers discovered that a pair of hemp compounds, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), bind to its spike protein. As Breemen points out, “That means cell entry inhibitors, like the acids from hemp, could be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and also to shorten infections by preventing virus particles from infecting human cells. They bind to the spike proteins so those proteins can’t bind to the ACE2 enzyme, which is abundant on the outer membrane of endothelial cells in the lungs and other organs.”
Although derived from the hemp plant and precursors to the consumer products of CBD and CBG, CBDA and CBGA are different from the acids and are not contained in hemp products. That means their commercial availability is limited. Still they have been extensively tested and proven safe for human consumption. The most promising aspect of the research may motivate wider distribution since while vaccines and treatments—like the currently discredited monoclonal antibodies—were based on earlier variants, the pair of hemp-derived compounds were effective in preventing infection from more recent versions of the virus. While research is in its early stages, it’s important to note that it’s not only a possible treatment but may also provide an inexpensive, easily distributed way to prevent infection as well.
Other Cannabis Compounds
Although Oregon has been associated with pot smoking counterculture for almost 60 years and was one of the first to legalize marijuana, the cannabis-derived compounds being tested as COVID-19 treatments don’t contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)––the psychoactive that causes euphoria and Zen calm in some, paranoia and agitation in others. Nor can the treatments be accessed by smoking the drug or consuming edibles.
Although THC and its attendant high is what most people think of when they think of cannabis, it’s one of dozens of cannabinoids found in marijuana. Another popular over-the-counter remedy, cannabidiol, or CBD, is celebrated by advocates for its many health benefits. Most widely available cannabidiol is created by extracting CBD from a cannabis plant before diluting it with carrier oils. It has been shown in studies to reduce pain and has even helped patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. Now research conducted on mice at the University of Chicago has demonstrated how CBD can prevent COVID-19 infections.
The idea of using the same high-purity, specially formulated CBD dose as the one used to treat epilepsy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 replication came about by accident, explains the study’s senior author, Marsha Rosner, Charles B. Huggins Professor in the Ben May Department of Cancer Research. “CBD has anti-inflammatory effects, so we thought that maybe it would stop the second phase of COVID infection involving the immune system, the so-called ‘cytokine storm.’ Surprisingly, it directly inhibited viral replication in lung cells.” Researchers also noted that epileptic patients taking the specially formulated CBD drug had lower rates of COVID-19 than the general population.
Although it will take time before human trials verify or invalidate the treatment, researchers in both studies caution that commercially available hemp and CBD oils are less likely to be effective. Still, the research offers a bit of hope that inexpensive, easily produced treatments and preventatives will be available in the near future.
Written by John Bankston
References
- A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019
- Hydroxychloroquine in Nonhospitalized Adults With Early COVID-19
- FAQ: COVID-19 and Ivermectin Intended for Animals
- Association of Convalescent Plasma Treatment With Clinical Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Limits Use of Certain Monoclonal Antibodies to Treat COVID-19 Due to the Omicron Variant
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
- States ranked by booster rates
- Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants
- Cannabidiol in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy: an open-label interventional trial
- Cannabidiol inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication through induction of the host ER stress and innate immune responses