Oregon State University’s new research reveals that hemp compounds can prevent the COVID-19 virus from entering human cells. This discovery holds significant implications for global health and the hemp industry. Believing this news to be of interest to our readers and clients, we share this story from the OregonState.edu website.
Oregon State University researchers have identified hemp compounds through a chemical screening technique they developed. These compounds can block the COVID-19 virus from entering human cells.
Richard van Breemen, a researcher at Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy, and Linus Pauling Institute, led the study. Today, the Journal of Natural Products published their findings.
Scientifically known as Cannabis sativa, hemp serves as a source of fiber, food, and animal feed. Many hemp extracts and compounds also enrich cosmetics, body lotions, dietary supplements, and food, explains van Breemen.
Van Breemen, along with scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, discovered that two cannabinoid acids, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This binding blocks a critical step in the virus’s infection process.
These cannabinoid acids, abundant in hemp and many hemp extracts, are not controlled substances like THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. They have a good safety profile in humans. The research demonstrates that these hemp compounds effectively combat SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom and the B.1.351 variant first detected in South Africa, known as the alpha and beta variants, respectively.
Van Breemen describes SARS-CoV-2, characterized by crown-like protrusions on its surface, as encoding its main structural proteins – spike, envelope, membrane, and nucleocapsid – along with several nonstructural and accessory proteins.
He highlights that any part of the infection and replication cycle could be a target for antiviral intervention. The spike protein’s receptor binding domain connecting to the human cell surface receptor ACE2 is a critical step in this cycle. Cell entry inhibitors, like the acids from hemp, can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and shorten infections by stopping virus particles from infecting human cells. They achieve this by binding to the spike proteins, preventing these proteins from attaching to the ACE2 enzyme, abundant on the outer membrane of endothelial cells in the lungs and other organs.
Van Breemen notes that using compounds to block virus-receptor interactions has benefited patients with other viral infections, including HIV-1 and hepatitis.Richard van Breemen, Ruth Muchiri from the College of Pharmacy and Linus Pauling Institute, along with five scientists from OHSU, utilized a mass spectrometry-based screening technique developed in van Breemen’s laboratory to identify two cannabinoid acids. This screening involved a variety of botanicals, such as red clover, wild yam, hops, and three species of licorice, often used as dietary supplements.
An earlier publication in the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry explained how they adapted the affinity selection mass spectrometry method to specifically target drugs at the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Further lab tests showed that cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid could effectively prevent the coronavirus spike protein from infecting human epithelial cells and hinder the entry of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into cells.
Van Breemen mentioned that these compounds, which can be taken orally and have been safely used by humans, hold the potential to both prevent and treat SARS-CoV-2 infections. He pointed out that CBDA and CBGA are produced by the hemp plant as precursors to CBD and CBG. However, these acids differ from those in the hemp plant and are not found in standard hemp products.
In describing the process of affinity selection mass spectrometry (AS-MS), van Breemen detailed that it involves incubating a target, such as the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with potential ligands like botanical extracts. These complexes of ligand-receptor are then separated from the non-binding molecules.
Van Breemen reported that their research identified several cannabinoid ligands that bind to the spike protein, with CBDA and CGBA showing the strongest affinity and a confirmed ability to block infection. He expressed concern about the spread of variants such as B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which are known to evade antibodies against early SARS-CoV-2 lineages. His team remains hopeful that CBDA and CBGA will be effective against these and other future variants.
He acknowledged the possibility of the emergence of resistant variants despite widespread cannabinoid use but believed that combining vaccination with CBDA/CBGA treatment would pose a significant challenge to the virus.
Van Breemen also mentioned their earlier research, which discovered a compound from licorice, licochalcone A, that binds to the spike protein. However, this compound has not yet been tested against the live virus, and new funding is being sought for this purpose.
Timothy Bates, Jules Weinstein, Hans Leier, Scotland Farley, and Fikadu Tafesse from OHSU also made significant contributions to the cannabinoid study.
About the OSU College of Pharmacy
The OSU College of Pharmacy is dedicated to preparing today’s students to become the pharmacy practitioners and pharmaceutical sciences researchers of tomorrow, contributing to improved health, advancing patient care, and aiding in the discovery and understanding of medicines.