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What is behind the effect of cannabidiol (CBD)?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is an interesting therapeutic option for cancer patients. In another article, we have already addressed the questions of when and how cancer patients can benefit from taking cannabidiol. Now let's look at what's behind the effects of cannabidiol: what is known about its effects? What can explain its effect? Which effects of cannabidiol could be proven by clinical studies?

Cannabidiol (CBD), a late-discovered cannabinoid from the hemp plant

Cannabidiol is counted among the so-called cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are active ingredients found mainly in the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica). The best-known cannabinoids are cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The latter is responsible for the intoxicating effects of hemp plants. Compared to other plant compounds cannabinoids were discovered relatively late. It was only in the 1970s that researchers were able to decipher the structure of cannabidiol and THC. By comparison, another important herbal ingredient, called salicylic acid, was discovered a hundred years earlier. The late discovery of cannabinoids has unfortunately forgotten the medical use of cannabis in the last century. After all, since the twentieth-century medicine has been claiming to know exactly the effects, properties and dosages of active ingredients. Only with the discovery of cannabinoids, the active ingredients of the hemp plant, cannabis became interesting again for modern medicine.

The mode of action of cannabidiol (CBD): the discovery of the endocannabinoid system

First, the researchers had studied the structure of cannabidiol and other cannabinoids. They quickly realized that cannabinoids must be responsible for the effects of cannabis. So they knew that cannabinoids worked. Now they wanted to clarify how this effect came about. In these investigations, they came across a hitherto unknown area in our body: the endocannabinoid system.

In 1987, Professor Allyn Howlett of Saint Louis University in Missouri (USA) showed for the first time that cannabinoids act via endogenous receptors. The human body has multiple receptors that respond to cannabinoids. The best known are cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2). The CB1 is found in the central nervous system and in the nervous system of the intestine. The CB2 is found on cells of the human defense system and on cells that regulate bone metabolism. These two receptors are part of the so-called endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is used to regulate body processes. So it has an influence on the

Performance of the defense system,

the pain perception,

the emergence of fears,

the mood and

the regulation of appetite, sleep and body temperature.

The endocannabinoid system can not only be influenced by cannabinoids from hemp plants. The body itself forms substances called endocannabinoids, which influence the system.

Due to the central role of the endocannabinoid system in the body, it is understandable that it can have a decisive impact on our well-being and on a possible recovery in the event of illness. For this reason, cannabinoids such as cannabidiol and THC have been scrutinized in recent decades. Can they provide answers to difficult to cure or incurable diseases?

How cannabidiol (CBD) works

Cannabidiol has different effects. Cannabinoid receptors are found in many places in the body. So it is understandable that cannabidiol can be effective in several places in the body. By binding to the cannabinoid receptors cannabidiol has anti-inflammatory, analgesic (including via activation of the so-called vanilloid receptors), soothing, antipsychotic and anxiolytic. In addition, cannabidiol can reduce the effect of THC by competing with it for the CB1 receptor. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, cannabidiol can protect cells and genetic material from negative influences. [3] [4] [5] [6] Several cell studies have shown that cannabidiol can inhibit cancer growth. Because of these multiple effects, it is more than understandable that researchers have tested and tested cannabidiol in humans in various clinical trials.