Marijuana’s anti-inflammatory compound

I’ll just have to copy and paste this one from boingboing. Sorry for that, I’m normally (a little) more creative.

New research shows that one of the cannabinoid found in marijuana is an anti-inflammatory that doesn’t have the side effect of getting you high. THC also combats inflammation, but that’s the stuff that gets you high. However, experiments at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology showed that another cannabis compound, (E)-BCP (beta-caryophyllene), is also an anti-inflammatory but doesn’t affect the molecular receptor that makes you feel stoned. Instead it activates only the CB2 receptor which plays a key role in alleviating inflammation. From National Geographic:

Essential oils from cannabis plants ‘” whose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drug ‘” contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP…

“Our interest is to exploit the pharmacological nature of the CB2 receptor,” because it does not have psychotropic side effects, (study author Jürg) Gertsch explained in an email.

For my German readers: anti-inflammatory = entzündungshemmend.

Link to the article on boingboing.

Link to the article on National Geographic.