Endocannabinoids, molecules produced in the body that share characteristics with chemicals found in cannabis, can shut down genes needed for certain gut bacteria to colonize, multiply and cause intestinal diseases such as gastroenteritis or inflammation .
- The overproduction of endocannabinoids can reduce the symptoms of an intestinal infection and reduce the days of infection.
- It also helps to mitigate the effects of salmonella, a bacterium that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and salmonellosis and prevent enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli.
- These results show the potential for a treatment based on cannabis compounds, or synthetic derivatives, that could help patients clear gut bacterial infections without antibiotics.
In January 2021, experimentation with cannabis in medical settings will begin. The drugs designed from this plant will only be administered to patients suffering from serious illnesses: certain forms of epilepsy, neuropathic pain, side effects of chemotherapy, palliative care or multiple sclerosis. In the meantime, research continues to examine what benefits marijuana can provide. American researchers published, on October 7 in the journal Cella study showing that cannabis can ease the symptoms of various intestinal conditions and lead to new ways to fight gastrointestinal infections.
Fewer symptoms
The key to the power of cannabis to treat our intestinal ailments is found in the endocannabinoids. These neurotransmitters, naturally present in our bodies, are formed from lipids and play various roles in the body, including the regulation of immunity, appetite and mood. Previous studies have shown that dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system leads to gut inflammation and affects the composition of the gut microbiota. Cannabis is known to relieve chronic gastrointestinal conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.
In this study, the researchers were interested in observing whether endocannabinoids can affect susceptibility to gastrointestinal infections. For this, they worked with mice genetically modified to overproduce the powerful endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG). They introduced a bacterial pathogen that attacks the colon and causes marked inflammation and diarrhea. They observed that the genetically modified mice developed only mild symptoms compared to those that were not modified to overproduce endocannabinoids. Inflammation and signs of infection were much lower and fecal loads were significantly lower for the mutant mice. In addition, infection days have been reduced.
Avoid antibiotics
In addition to these observations, the researchers noted that increased levels of the endocannabinoid 2-AG may mitigate the effects of salmonella, a bacterium that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and salmonellosis and prevent Escherichia coli enterohemorrhagic, a particularly dangerous gastrointestinal bacterium that infects humans. Conversely, when they used a drug to inhibit the production of 2-AG in mice, the mice became more susceptible to bacterial pathogens.
These results show the potential for a treatment based on cannabis compounds, or synthetic derivatives, that could help patients clear gut bacterial infections without antibiotics. “These findings may help explain some of the effects of cannabis use on inflammatory bowel conditionscontinues Vanessa Sperandio, professor of microbiology and biochemistry and lead author of the study. Although studies have shown that cannabis can reduce inflammation, recent research has shown that these conditions also tend to have a bacterial component which could be positively affected by plant cannabinoids..”
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