Researchers from the University of Bath, UK has found that Cannabinoids derived from Cannabis has found to be effective in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. "The system that responds to cannabis in the brain is present and functioning in the lining of the gut," lead researcher Dr. Karen Wright, of the University of Bath, explained to Reuters Health. "There is an increased presence of one component of this system during inflammatory bowel diseases," she explained.
The report of the study was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology in which she has explained the location of CB1 and CB2 receptors in human colon tissue which binds to the Cannabinoid. She has used Human colon cell lines to establish the binding of the cannabinoid compounds and in her wound healing experiments.Increased CB2 receptors are found in colonic tissue characteristic of inflammatory bowel disease. They found that the Cannabinoids helps in wound healing of the surface by CB1 related receptor mechanism.
"Cannabinoids, which we make ourselves, as well as synthetic Cannabinoids, can promote wound healing in the gut, which is extremely interesting given that inflammatory bowel disease involves damaged gut linings," Wright said.
(SOURCE: The Journal of Gastroenterology)
