Can CBD help you when you’re sick? Anti-viral and anti-microbial properties?
Herbs have been used for thousands of years to benefit mankind. There are 350,000 different medicinal plants that have been documented for its medicinal use and plant use dates to 60,000 years ago (Pan, et al., 2014).
The increasingly popular herb is CBD and for a good reasons…
CBD was shown to have anti-viral properties that help us to better fend off from viral pathogens and their invasion because CBD inhibits the virus cell’s ability to reproduce, even inside the lung tissues, where viruses often target (Nguyen, et al., 2021).
CBD was also shown to upregulate interferon expression (Signals sent for stimulating antigen presentation, antiviral responses, inflammation, and autoimmunity) and upregulate antiviral signaling pathways (Nguyen, et al., 2021).
The study also included that CBD was the only cannabinoid that was shown to have these antiviral properties, while other cannabinoids showed to have no effect on viruses (Nguyen, et al., 2021).
CBD was also shown to have shocking antimicrobial properties as well.
Another study indicated that the antimicrobial properties of CBD showed to be effective against more than 20 different types of gram-positive bacteria including different strands of MRSA, bacterial strains that cause ear infections, sepsis, pneumonia, sinus infections, and meningitis (Streptococcus pneumoniae) (Blaskovich, et al., 2021). Blaskovich et al. (2021) also stated the antimicrobial properties where shown to kill the bacteria that is responsible for colitis, diarrhea (Clostridioides), and even the bacteria that causes acne (Cutibacterium) (Blaskovich, et al., 2021).
The antiviral and antimicrobial properties make CBD a potential candidate for the treatment of viral and gram-positive bacterial infections and can even help us keep acne at bay. More studies will reveal the potential these plant cannabinoids really have on human health and diseases.
The best thing is the side effects… or should I say, lack thereof.
*This information is for educational purposes only. No medical advice or claims are being made.
References
Blaskovich, M. A. T., Kavanagh, A. M., Elliott, A. G., Zhang, B., Ramu, S., Amado, M., Lowe, G. J., Hinton, A. O., Pham, D. M. T., Zuegg, J., Beare, N., Quach, D., Sharp, M. D., Pogliano, J., Rogers, A. P., Lyras, D., Tan, L., West, N. P., Crawford, D. W., … Thurn, M. (2021, January 19). The antimicrobial potential of Cannabidiol. Nature News. Retrieved May 26, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-020-01530-y#citeas
Nguyen, L. C., Yang, D., Nicolaescu, V., Best, T. J., Ohtsuki, T., Chen, S. N., Friesen, J. B., Drayman, N., Mohamed, A., Dann, C., Silva, D., Gula, H., Jones, K. A., Millis, J. M., Dickinson, B. C., Tay, S., Oakes, S. A., Pauli, G. F., Meltzer, D. O., Randall, G., … Rosner, M. R. (2021). Cannabidiol Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Promotes the Host Innate Immune Response. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2021.03.10.432967. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.10.432967
Pan, S. Y., Litscher, G., Gao, S. H., Zhou, S. F., Yu, Z. L., Chen, H. Q., Zhang, S. F., Tang, M. K., Sun, J. N., & Ko, K. M. (2014). Historical perspective of traditional indigenous medical practices: the current renaissance and conservation of herbal resources. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2014, 525340. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/525340
