A laboratory study was recently published in the Journal of Nature Products stating that cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells.
The two compounds commonly found in hemp — called cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA — were identified during a chemical screening effort as having potential to combat coronavirus, researchers from Oregon State University said. In the study, they bound to spike proteins found on the virus and blocked a step the pathogen uses to infect people.
The researchers tested the compounds against the “alpha” and “beta” variants of the virus in human cells in a lab. Richard van Breeman, a researcher at Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, said they “hope that trend will extend to other existing and future variants” of the virus, adding that “the combination of vaccination and CBDA/CBGA treatment…