Components in cannabis may prevent the coronavirus from entering healthy cells, according to a lab study published in the Journal of Nature Products.
According to researchers at the University of Oregon, two substances in hemp, CBGA and CBDA, can counteract the virus.
The substances in question bound themselves to protrusions of protein parts on the virus and blocked a substance that the pathogen uses to infect humans. The scientists did laboratory tests with the alpha and beta variants of the virus but did not conduct human studies.
Hemp is used in all kinds of products, including food. “These components, which can be taken orally, have a long history of safe use in humans,” said researcher Richard van Breemen of the university’s Hemp Innovation Center.
“They have the potential to prevent and treat infection from the coronavirus.”