What is the relation between CBD oil and Covid virus?
We’re now familiar with the many benefits of CBD to our health. We know CBD can help control symptoms as simple as mild headaches and symptoms as severe as treatment-resistant epileptic seizures. We know CBD activates not just the endocannabinoid system in relieving these symptoms but other receptors as well. Moreover, we also know that CBD is a safe therapeutic agent against many health problems.
But did you know that CBD may also help fight COVID19 infection?
In Vitro Testing of CBD Against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus
An exciting study published by Science Advances last January 2022 showed that CBD has the potential to block SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID19) from replicating within the cell.
To do the test, the researchers first treated human lung cells with CBD, after which they exposed them to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Forty-eight hours later, they found CBD-treated cells were better at blocking viral replication than the untreated cell samples.
They replicated the same test on monkey kidney cells, which are very vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Again, the CBD-treated cells inhibited the viral replication better than the untreated samples.
The researchers then tested CBD against three SARS-CoV-2 variants — Alpha, Beta, and Gamma — and the test yielded the same results. CBD was able to protect the cells against these variants. The study was done before the variants Delta, Omicron, and Stealth Omicron appeared.
CBD appears to potently and effectively inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 virus in an in-vitro setting. But what happens if the test is done in-vivo?
In Vivo Testing of CBD Against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus
Can CBD decrease the viral titer or concentration of viral particles in living animals?
To test if it could, researchers injected pure CBD into mice through their peritoneum twice a day for seven days. After that time, they sprayed live SARS-CoV-2 viruses into the mice’s nasal passages and continued the CBD administrations twice a day for four more days.
Five days after SARS-CoV-2 infection, they checked the viral titer of the mice and noted significant inhibition in the viral replication, not only in their nasal turbinates but in their lungs as well.
The reduction in viral titer was dose-dependent. The mice that received higher CBD doses had lower viral titers. On the contrary, those that received lower doses still had higher viral titers.
The mice may have been infected with COVID19, but they seem to be doing well with no severe clinical symptoms, including significant weight loss. These studies show that CBD treatment may be very beneficial during the early stages of COVID19 infection.
CBD Users and the Risk of COVID19 Infection
While no human clinical trial was done within the study, researchers did analyze the medical records of patients with seizures disorders who were also using CBD during the pandemic. They then compared it with another group of the same demographics who weren’t taking CBD.
Interestingly, they found that the group taking CBD had a lower COVID19 positivity rate of 4.9% compared to the non-CBD group’s positivity rate of 9%.
How Does CBD Affect the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?
According to researchers, non-psychoactive CBD, and one of its metabolites called 7-OH-CBD, can block SARS-CoV-2 from replicating and spreading in the lung epithelial cells.
CBD, says the study, acts once the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects the cells. It immediately stops the virus from hijacking the host cell. It also prevents the virus from converting its viral gene into a mature gene product. This is the end product that makes copies of the viral RNA. The messenger RNA or mRNA then leaves the host cell to infect other healthy cells. The study then went on to say that CBD also has the potential to reverse the viral changes caused by the virus in the host cell.
Another way CBD suppresses the SARS-CoV-2 virus is by activating the interferon signaling pathway, a protective mechanism that the virus inhibits. Interferons are signaling proteins that infected host cells release. Once nearby cells detect the interferons, they will activate their antiviral defenses to fight the infection.
In addition to these beneficial effects, the researchers also found that CBD also prevents the virus from inducing the expression of cytokine protein genes. If left unchecked, this COVID19 effect can lead to a deadly complication — the cytokine storm. This usually occurs at the later stages of COVID19 infection and is a major cause of COVID19 deaths.
Cytokines play a primary pro-inflammatory part in infections. They signal other immune cells to go to the site to fight the pathogen. Unfortunately, COVID19 sometimes pushes the immune system to release very high amounts of these pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in a phenomenon known as a cytokine storm. This abnormal, hyperactive immune response damages not only the lungs but other organs as well, like the heart, the liver, the kidneys, and the brain. Multiorgan failure can result in death.
Are Other Cannabinoids Potent Against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?
CBD exhibits potent antiviral effects against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But the study found that only pure CBD (with no THC or other cannabinoids, for that matter) has great blocking or inhibiting effects against the virus causing COVID19. CBD effectively fights multiple organ failure and death.
If you’re looking for pure CBD oil in Canada to add to your daily health regimen, please, don’t hesitate to visit the ICARIA website. We offer 3rd-party-tested, THC-free, pure CBD oils in varying concentrations.
You can send us a message with any questions you have about our products. You can also read through our product reviews to know more about our CBD oils.
CBD prevents the virus from replicating inside the infected host cell. The other cannabinoids, on the other hand, have none or very little antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2.
The study also found that using THC with CBD on a 1:1 ratio significantly blocked the antiviral effects of CBD against the virus.
Final Thoughts — Can CBD Oil Help with COVID19?
Based on this study, CBD has potent therapeutic effects against COVID19. Once the SARS-CoV-2 virus enters the cell, CBD actively prevents it from replicating inside the host cell. It also reverses the changes caused by the virus.
Additionally, CBD also activates the interferon signaling pathways that warn nearby, healthy cells of the presence of this pathogen.
Lastly, CBD helps inhibit COVID19’s deadly cytokine storm that causes.
