Review
The molecular mechanisms that underpin the biological benefits of full-spectrum cannabis extract in the treatment of neuropathic pain and inflammation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2020.165771 Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Full-spectrum cannabis extract demonstrates anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects in pre-clinical studies.

  • The presence of various terpenes and cannabinoids in full-spectrum cannabis extract contribute to the “entourage effect”.

  • Full-spectrum cannabis extract may represent a promising approach to treating pain and inflammation.

Abstract

Cannabis has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of pain and inflammatory diseases. The biological effect of cannabis is mainly attributed to two major cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. In the majority of studies to-date, a purified tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alone or in combination have been extensively examined in many studies for the treatment of numerous disorders including pain and inflammation. However, few studies have investigated the biological benefits of full-spectrum cannabis plant extract. Given that cannabis is known to generate a large number of cannabinoids along with numerous other biologically relevant products including terpenes, studies involving purified tetrahydrocannabinol and/or cannabidiol do not consider the potential biological benefits of the full-spectrum cannabis extracts. This may be especially true in the case of cannabis as a potential treatment of pain and inflammation. Herein, we review the pre-clinical physiological and molecular mechanisms in biological systems that are affected by cannabis.

Keywords

Full-spectrum cannabis extract
Neuropathic pain
THC
CBD
Terpenes

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