Cannabis (marijuana) has been used as human medicine for thousands of years in places such as China. It’s active compounds include the many cannabinoids it contains such as the currently popular tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
When medical researchers perform studies they often utilize a synthetic (man-made) version of a component found in nature. In this study, a synthetic version of CBD was used to evaluate any effects it would have on a specific type of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells.
Proliferation is when cells reproduce and multiply, something undesirable in the case of cancer. Apoptosis is when cells self-destruct and die, removing their ability to reproduce, something very desirable with cancer cells.
The authors found that there were a variety of mechanisms by which the synthetic CBD caused a decreased cancer cell proliferation, as well as an increase in cancer cell apoptosis in this particular type of liver cancer.
While this is good news that should lead to further studies, many may question what would happen if researchers evaluated natural CBD, or even the whole plant product from the cannabis plant.
