According to a recent study, CBG, a lesser-known cannabis component could be a promising treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Researchers from the Rambam Health Care Campus, Israel, released preliminary findings of a study that examined cannabigerol – a nonintoxicating cannabis compound – and its ability to reduce arthritis inflammation.
The study’s authors describe using CBG directly to regulate neutrophils or white blood cells that release certain cytokines associated with inflammation. Recent research results were published in Pharmaceuticals.
Preclinical studies involved administering cannabis compounds to laboratory mice and introducing CBG into isolated human neutrophils. Researchers concluded that CBG “has anti-inflammatory potential and therapeutic potency in regulating the neutrophil-mediated immune system in RA.”
The study’s authors concluded that “to date there has been no specific treatment for neutrophils.” Yet they found that “CBG reduces the inflammatory output of human neutrophils by suppressing TNF-α and IL-6 production,” referring to select cytokines.
The findings show that CBG can be used as a modulator to affect neutrophil-mediated immunological responses, and also reduce the inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.
Specifically, cannabigerol was associated with deceases in the cytokines IL-6 by 98 percent and IL-1β by 60 percent. It also reduced MCP-1 by 22 percent and IL-1β by 38 percent in the joints.
The researchers discovered that CBG reduced the likelihood that neutrophils will target an inflammatory message. This was important, because immune cells moving towards joints is a critical part of the cycle that leads to arthritis.
The mice group of the study showed that test subjects who were treated with cannabinoid had improved scores for arthritis and weight gain compared to those not being treated. Although the disease was present, it manifested in a milder form.
These findings show that CBG has a regulatory action by reducing inflammatory immune cells recruitment to the inflamed joint in RA diseased mice, they added. They also noted that human RA is “a heterogeneous chronic condition”, and that “further clinical trials over a longer period of time are needed” to prove the effectiveness of cannabinoid therapy in RA.
Note that Raphael Pharmaceutical Inc. provided a portion of the funding for this research. They supplied the CBG in use.
These findings are based on previous research. For example, a study from 2024 found that, in people suffering from rheumatic diseases such as arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, over 6/10 patients reported using medical cannabis to replace medications like NSAIDs or opioids. The majority of patients also said that marijuana use allowed them to stop or reduce their medication usage.
A study in Frontiers published in 2018 showed that CBD (another non-intoxicating cannabis compound) can relieve the symptoms associated with osteoarthritis.