A lesser known cannabis component known as CBG could represent a novel treatment in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a new study.
Researchers at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Israel released preclinical findings from a study examining cannabigerol, a non-intoxicating cannabinoid, and its potential to reduce inflammation associated with arthritis.
While most conventional RA therapies target certain proteins called cytokines, the study authors described using CBG to directly regulate white blood cells, or neutrophils, that can release certain cytokines linked to inflammation. The research findings were recently published in the journal Pharmaceuticals.
The preclinical study involved introducing CBG to isolated neutrophils extracted human blood cells, as well as administering the cannabis compound to lab mice. Researchers determined that “CBG has anti-inflammatory capacity and therapeutic potential in regulating neutrophil-mediated immunity in RA.”
“To date, there is no treatment that specifically targets neutrophils,” the study authors wrote. Yet they found that “CBG reduces the inflammatory output of human neutrophils by suppressing TNF-α and IL-6 production,” referring to select cytokines.
“These findings highlight CBG as an effective preclinical modulator candidate for affecting neutrophil-mediated immune responses and attenuating inflammation in 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.
For the analysis of the isolated human cells, researchers found that CBG made it less likely that neutrophils would target an inflammatory signal, which is important because immune cells moving toward joints are a key part of the cycle associated with arthritis-related damage.
In the mice portion of the study, test subjects treated with the cannabinoid showed improved arthritic scores and were less likely to experience weight loss compared to the untreated group. The disease still manifested, but with less severity.
“These findings demonstrate that CBG exerts a regulatory effect by limiting inflammatory immune cell recruitment to inflamed joints in RA-diseased mice,” they said, while adding that human RA “is a highly heterogeneous and chronic condition” and “further long-term clinical studies are necessary” to confirm the efficacy of the cannabinoid in RA therapy.
It should be noted that the company Raphael Pharmaceutical Inc., which supplied the CBG used in the study, provided partial funding for the research.
The findings build on prior research, including a 2024 study that found, among people with rheumatic conditions such as arthritis, more than 6 in 10 patients who used medical cannabis reported substituting it for other medications, including NSAIDs, opioids, sleep aids and muscle relaxants. Most patients further said that the use of marijuana allowed them to reduce or stop using those medications entirely.
In 2018, meanwhile, a study published in the journal Frontiers indicated that another non-intoxicating cannabinoid, CBD, can alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis in dogs.
