A compound in marijuana may be a potent anti-inflammatory agent that won't get people high, scientists say.
The finding could be a boon to sufferers of arthritis, cirrhosis, and other diseases. Existing drugs can be less effective for some people and can carry side effects, from stomach ulcers to increased risk of heart attacks.
Now researchers say that another cannabinoid, called beta-caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, helps combat inflammation without affecting the brain.The most active cannabinoiddelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THCis known to have anti-inflammatory properties. But it is also responsible for the plant's psychotropic effects.
(E)-BCP is already part of many people's daily diets, the researchers note. Foods that are particularly high in the compound include black pepper, oregano, basil, lime, cinnamon, carrots, and celery.
Essential oils from cannabis plantswhose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drugcontain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP.
But even after decades of cannabis research, scientists hadn't previously known that the compound had anti-inflammatory properties.
"This is because the focus was on the classical cannabinoids [rather than (E)-BCP]," said lead study author Jürg Gertsch of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
