A study published in the journal Phytomedicine, conducted by researchers from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, investigates how cannabidiol (CBD) influences gut microbiota and metabolic pathways to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
“Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases, affecting multiple systems in the body”, states the study’s abstract. “Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the most medically valuable active ingredients in cannabis. At present, CBD has been shown to alleviate the progression of RA; however, owing to its multiple targets, the mechanism of CBD is not clear.”
For the study, researchers “explored the mechanism by which CBD inhibits RA progression.”
The research focused on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats, a common model for studying RA. Through metagenomic and metabolomic analyses, the study revealed that CBD reversed gut dysbiosis in CIA rats. Specifically, it altered the abundances of bacterial strains such as Allobaculum unclassified, Allobaculum fili, and Prevotella unclassified. These changes corresponded with an increase in plasma levels of butyric acid and L-carnitine, metabolites linked to reduced inflammation.
Further analysis showed that Allobaculum contributes to butyric acid production, while Prevotella enhances L-carnitine metabolism. In vitro experiments supported these findings, demonstrating that L-carnitine regulates immune cells like neutrophils, macrophages, and RA-fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLSs), aligning with synovial changes observed in the CIA rats treated with CBD.
The study concludes by stating:
In summary, CBD increased the plasma contents of butyric acid and L-carnitine by altering the abundances of gut microbiota, thereby inhibiting inflammation in neutrophils, macrophages and RA-FLSs. Our study is the first to explain the mechanism by which CBD alleviates progression in CIA rats from the perspective of gut microbes and metabolites, providing new views into CBD mechanisms, which warrants clinical attention.
According to a different study published recently in The Cureus Journal of Medical Science, “a notable portion of the patients with inflammatory arthritis including RA and PsA reported a history of use or ongoing cannabinoid use. Furthermore, the patients reported a short-term reduction of pain, fatigue, and swelling, though it is unclear if these findings are related to a placebo effect.”
