Moss instead of cannabis
The moss drug will become a legal substitute for medical cannabis
Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+
While heated debates continue around the research and medical use of cannabinoids, Swiss scientists have found an analogue. The moss variety does not cause a psychoactive reaction and can become the basis of new drugs for pain and inflammation.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), first isolated from cannabis in 1964, has an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect. For a long time it was believed that it was contained only in marijuana, but in 1994 a similar compound was found in the liver moss Radula perrottetii.
The substance, called perrottetinen, resembles THC in the composition of atoms, but differs in the features of the three-dimensional structure and the presence of an additional benzyl group. Unfortunately, after the discovery, perrottetinene was forgotten for a long time, and its medicinal potential remained unexplored, according to a press release from the University of Bern, A type of moss could prove to be more medically effective than hemp.
Researchers from the University of Bern and the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich decided to close this gap. They compared the biochemical properties of perrottetinen and THC.
Experiments with animals have shown that perrottetinene easily penetrates the brain and activates cannabinoid receptors. And this substance has a more pronounced anti-inflammatory effect than THC.
Article by Chicca et al. Uncovering the psychoactivity of a cannabinoid from liverworths associated with a legal high is published in the journal Science Advances – VM.
Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, perrottetinene has a minor psychoactive effect on the brain. According to the researchers, this could make the substance a legal and safe substitute for medical marijuana.
However, before mossy medicines appear on the shelves of pharmacies, additional research needs to be done. For example, to find out how effectively perrottetinen copes with chronic pain and inflammation.
THC is not the only psychoactive substance with medicinal potential. It is possible that in the coming years doctors will be able to prescribe the hallucinogen psilocybin isolated from "magic mushrooms" to patients with severe depression. The FDA has already awarded this approach the status of a "breakthrough therapy".
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