LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A team of researchers, including members from the University of Louisville, found that an FDA-approved, pharmaceutical-grade formulation of CBD has an antiviral effect and significant negative association with COVID infection.
The study, headed by the University of Chicago and published in Science Advances on Jan. 20, looked at people who tested positive for COVID-19 while taking the approved drug to treat epilepsy, according to a release.
Researchers are now saying that clinical trials should be started to determine whether CBD could potentially be used as a preventative or early treatment for COVID-19.
According to the release, experts have warned that the COVID-blocking effects of CBD come only from a high purity, specially-formulated dose taken in specific situations. The studies don't suggest that taking commercially available CBD products with varying purity and dosage can prevent the virus.
"The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a robust hemp agriculture, so we were pleased to find that pharmaceutical-grade CBD is worth testing in future human clinical studies,” said Kenneth Palmer, study coauthor who headed the UofL research team.
Marsha Rosner, PhD, is a professor at the University of Chicago and a senior author of the study. Rosner said the research team thought the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD might be able to stop the second part of a COVID infection when the virus enters the immune system.
Through testing, the research team found that when the concentration of CBD reaches a certain point, the drug prevents the virus from replicating. Further investigation found that CBD has the same effect in two other types of cells and three variants of COVID in addition to the original strain.
During this study, CBD did not prevent COVID from entering the cell. Instead, it was effective at blocking replication early in the infection cycle, preventing the virus from spreading.
“We just wanted to know if CBD would affect the immune system,” Rosner said. “No one in their right mind would have ever thought that it blocked viral replication, but that’s what it did.”
Outside of the laboratory, an analysis of 1,212 patients from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative revealed that patients taking a medically prescribed oral solution of CBD for the treatment of epilepsy tested positive for COVID-19 at significantly lower rates than those who were not taking CBD, according to the study.
Researchers said a human clinical trial needs to be done to make sure CBD is really effective at preventing or suppressing COVID-19 and to monitor any potential side effects.
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