With around two million cancer cases being diagnosed each year, scientists are always on a hunt for novel and advanced means to fight cancer. Considering the gravity of this condition, the scientific community has been continually searching for the anti-cancer potential of unconventional substances like viagra and cannabis. Well, to be true, such endeavors have paid off very well as the scientists have recently revealed that hemp, which is a kind of Cannabis Sativa plant can also fight off cancer.
The 1970 Controlled Substances Act is more relaxed now, and so, the scientists believe that this can help them in using hemp for treating ovarian cancer. The researchers from Sullivan University [1], Kentucky, have recently revealed that hemp has several anti-cancerous properties that can considerably reduce the progression of cancer.
Chase Turner, co-author of the study and a pharmacy student at Sullivan University, asserts that KY-hemp can considerably slow down the ovarian cancer and is much better than the conventional drug Cisplatin. Turner says that the drug, Cisplatin exhibits toxicity, the researchers expect that hemp would not lead to any such severe side effects.
KY-hemp is a strain obtained from a type of hemp especially grown in Kentucky. KY-hemp was chosen for the study because like marijuana, it also contains cannabinol, cannabidiol (CBD) and a little amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Previous studies have also already revealed that these compounds are therapeutically effective. According to the American Cancer Society , CBD can efficiently reduce anxiety and seizures. THC can reduce pain and nausea, associated with cancer and its treatments.[2]
More About This Research
The research conducted by scientists from Sullivan University suggests that HY-hemp can effectively mitigate few effects of ovarian cancer. In this study, they tested the efficiency of HY-hemp in treating ovarian cancer in two different experiments.
In the first experiment, they added different concentrations of the hemp in already cultured ovarian cancer cells. The results indicated that hemp considerably slowed down the cell migration, showing that hemp can possibly slow down the spread of the cancer cells to other body parts via a process known as metastasis.
The second experiment was basically done to test the protective effects of hemp against the ovarian cancer. Here, the researchers introduced the hemp into the cultured cancer cells. The results showed that hemp slowed down the secretion of the interleukin IL-1Beta (a cytokine protein). Interleukins work as cellular messengers that can elicit an immune response when working correctly.
However, interleukins can also increase inflammation in the body, which leads to cancer progression. The scientists believe that it is due to reduced secretion of the interleukin IL-1Beta that the hemp works so effectively in treating cancer. The researchers further plan to test the hemp on the mice with ovarian cancer and on other cell cultures to know more about how hemp inhibits cancer cells.
Hemp contains only 0.3% or even less amount of THC as compared to the 5% to 20% of the same in marijuana. It seems to be a better alternative for researchers, who are looking for cancer treatments that are not addictive or have psychoactive properties.
Today, it is legal to use hemp as an agricultural commodity and it can also be grown by universities and various state departments for research and agricultural purposes. This is a great piece of news for both farmers and researchers. Meanwhile, this is also a great step towards treating ovarian cancer.
