In a new study “treatment with cannabinoids resulted in decreased clinical markers of inflammation”, with the anti-inflammatory effect of CBC and CBD in conjunction “associated with a greater anti-inflammatory effect than either minor cannabinoid alone.”
The study was published in the journal Annals of Plastic Surgery, and is titled The Mechanism of Cannabichromene and Cannabidiol Alone Versus in Combination in the Alleviation of Arthritis-Related Inflammation. It was conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia and the Departments of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery.
“Patients suffering from arthritis have limited treatment options for nonoperative management”, states the study’s researchers. “In search of pain relief, patients have been taking over-the-counter cannabinoids. Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabichromene (CBC) are minor cannabinoids with reported analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties and have been implicated as potential therapeutics for arthritis-related pain.”
To this end, researchers “utilized a murine model to investigate the effectiveness of and mechanism by which CBC alone, CBD alone, or CBD and CBC in combination may provide a reduction in arthritis-associated inflammation.”
For the study forty-eight mice were included, with them separated into 4 groups: control group (n = 12), treatment with CBD alone (n = 12), treatment with CBC alone (n = 12), and treatment with CBD + CBC (n = 12).
Researchers “induced inflammation in each mouse utilizing the collagen-induced arthritis model. At scheduled timepoints, mice were clinically assessed for weight gain, swelling, and arthritis severity. In addition, inflammation-associated serum cytokine levels were analyzed for each animal.”
Researchers found that 35e of 48 mice survived the duration of the study resulting in the following group numbers: control group (n = 8), treatment with CBD alone (n = 9), treatment with CBC alone (n = 9), and treatment with CBD + CBC (n = 9).
“Animals treated with CBC and CBD + CBC showed significant weight gain between 3 and 5 weeks”, the study found. “Irrespective of treatment, regression analysis comparing all cytokine measurement and physical outcomes found a significant positive correlation between levels of 5 individual cytokines and both arthritis scores and swelling. Animals treated with CBD + CBC showed a significant decrease in swelling between 3 and 5 weeks compared with the control group. Cannabinoid treatment selectively affected the gene expression of eotaxin and lipopolysaccharide-induced CXC chemokine with combined treatment of CBC + CBD.”
Researchers conclude:
Treatment with cannabinoids resulted in decreased clinical markers of inflammation. Further, the anti-inflammatory effect of CBC and CBD in conjunction was associated with a greater anti-inflammatory effect than either minor cannabinoid alone. Future work will elucidate the possibility of synergistic or entourage effects of minor cannabinoids used in combination for the treatment of arthritis-related pain and inflammation.
