Cannabis Terpenes Exhibit Anti-Cancer Effects In China Preclinical Trial
Anyone who has battled cancer, or loved someone who has battled cancer, will be quick to tell you that it is a very difficult and terrible thing to ever have to endure. According to the Worldwide Cancer Research Fund International, “there were 19,976,499 cancer cases in 2022.”
Trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer are the most commonly diagnosed forms of the serious health condition, followed by breast cancer and colorectum cancer. It is estimated that roughly 1 out of every 10 deaths across the globe every year are cancer-related, and effective treatments are desperately needed.
Researchers in China recently conducted a preclinical cancer research trial involving cannabis terpenes. Terpenes are naturally occurring chemical compounds in the cannabis plant. Below are the results of the trial via a news release from NORML:
Shanghai, China: Hemp oil extracts containing the terpenes β-caryophyllene and α-humulene possess potent analgesic and anti-cancer properties, according to preclinical data published in Fitoterapia: The Journal for the Study of Medicinal Plants.
Chinese scientists assessed the pain-relieving and anti-tumor activities of hemp oil in mice. They reported that the administration of cannabis extracts reduced neuropathic pain and “significantly inhibited” tumor growth.
The study’s authors concluded, “These results reveal that HEO [hemp essential oil] plays a role not only in tumor chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy treatment, but also in anti-tumor treatment which offers key information for new strategies in cancer treatment and provides reference for the medicinal development of hemp.”
Prior studies have similarly determined that cannabis terpenes, including β-caryophyllene and α-humulene, can produce potent analgesic effects in animal models. Cannabinoids possess well-established anti-cancer activities in preclinical models, but their efficacy has rarely been assessed in clinical trials.
Full text of the study, “Chemical compounds, anti-tumor and anti-neuropathic pain effect of hemp essential oil,” appears in Fitoterapia. Additional information on cannabinoids and cancer is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.