Canadian Researchers Say Marijuana Active Ingredients Can Block Coronavirus Infection

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Studies by scientists at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, show that the medicinal strain of Cannabis sativa can serve as an important inhibitor to the spread of the coronavirus in the body.

According to researcher Igor Kovalchuk, at least 12 of the plant’s 400 varieties that have been tested in laboratories have succeeded in reducing the number of receptors of the virus by 73 percent.

“If they can reduce the number of receptors, there is much less chance of infection,” Kovalchuk told journalist Bill Kaufmann of the Canadian newspaper Calgary Herald.

The study conducted by the group linked to the researcher was published on Preprints.org and has yet to be reviewed by other scientists, but according to Kovalchuk it could help encourage research with cannabis.

According to him, few substances are capable of reducing between 70 and 80 percent of coronavirus receptors. He believes that the main factor ensuring the effectiveness of such a treatment is the correct balance of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

Israeli biotechnology company Stero Biotechs began testing the administration of CBD to patients with Covid-19 at the Rabin Medical Center. Ten patients will undergo cannabidiol steroid therapy.

In late April, Brazil’s health regulatory agency ANVISA released the sale of the first cannabis-based product in Brazil, a herbal medicine with a THC concentration of up to 0.2 percent.

In 2019, an ANVISA resolution approved the establishment of a new category of cannabis-based products; it went into effect on March 10th this year. From that date on, companies interested in manufacturing and marketing these products were entitled to apply for authorization from the agency.

Source: Fórum