Milan, Italy: The administration of whole-plant cannabis extracts provides superior pain relief compared to the administration of the plant’s isolated components, according to preclinical data to be published in the journal Phytotherapy Research. Investigators at the University of Milan, Department of Pharmacology assessed the antinociceptive efficacy of plant-derived cannabis extracts compared to the administration of a single cannabinoid in an animal model of neuropathic pain.
Researchers reported that the administration of single cannabinoids such as THC or CBD (cannabidiol) produced limited relief compared to the administration of plant extracts containing multiple cannabinoids, terpenes (oils), and flavonoids (pigments). “[T]he use of a standardized extract of Cannabis sativa … evoked a total relief of thermal hyperalgesia, in an experimental model of neuropathic pain, … ameliorating the effect of single cannabinoids,” investigators concluded.
They added: “Collectively, these findings strongly support the idea that the combination of cannabinoid and non-cannabinoid compounds, as present in [plant-derived] extracts, provide significant advantages in the relief of neuropathic pain compared with pure cannabinoids alone. … Further studies of cannabis-based medicines in neuropathic pain are now required to demonstrate a clinically relevant improvement in the treatment of this condition.”
Two separate US clinical trials recently affirmed that inhaled cannabis significantly reduces neuropathy in patients with chronic pain conditions, such as HIV or spinal cord injury, compared to placebo.
Previously published preclinical data on cannabis and analgesia have shown that cannabinoids, when administered in concert with either opiates or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), evoke greater reductions in pain compared to the administration of either drug alone.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, “Antihyperalgesic effect of a Cannabis sativa extract in a rat model of neuropathic pain,” will appear in the journal Phytotherapy Research.