The therapeutic properties of the hemp plant and its isolated compounds have been known and recognized for thousands of years.
The hemp plant contains more than 500 phytochemical compounds such as phytocannabinoids, terpenes, phenolic compounds, which are products of the plant’s metabolism, the concentration of which depends on the type of tissue involved in the extraction, the age of the plant, the plant variety, the growing conditions of the plant (soil, moisture, light intensity), but also on the time of harvesting and storage conditions.
Without going into the technical details, CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the phytocannabinoids isolated from the plant (along with THC, CBN and many others). Its therapeutic effects are closely linked to a system of receptors in the human body, called the endocannabinoid system, which is crucial in the maintenance of homeostasis (the property of living organisms to maintain their various physiological constants). The system consists of formations called endocannabinoid receptors (which, it should be noted, are 10 times more numerous than opioid receptors), endogenous ligands (anandamide, AEA, and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, 2-AG) and enzymes involved in the synthesis and cleavage of the endocannabinoid compounds.
This system is present everywhere in the body, both extracellularly and intracellularly, having different forms of receptors, depending on the region/system (e.g. CB1 in the central nervous system). Its functions are numerous, we only mention: immunomodulator, neuromodulator, appetite and adipocyte regulation (energetic and metabolic role), regulator of blood circulation and blood pressure, role in psychoemotional and cognitive processes (memory, learning, perception, emotional regulator). Clinical researchers state that it is involved in the modulation of many conditions, including chronic and potentially life-threatening conditions such as multiple and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases – and even some cancers, but also in inflammatory and neurological pain, systemic inflammatory diseases, anorexia, migraine headaches, etc.
CBD is said to have multiple health-promoting effects such as anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, cognitive enhancer, analgesic, antiemetic, neuroprotective, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, etc. CBD therapy is a mainstay in our Therapeutica approach also because the receptors of the endocannabinoid system transmit information more rapidly than the receptors of the nervous system.
For therapeutic purposes, CBD extract can be administered as an oil or included in various foods (e.g. jellies or chocolate). Doses vary widely, depending on the patient and the conditions they are suffering from; according to some authors, this ranges from 1 mg/kg bw/day to 80-100 mg/kg bw/day.
Tofan Bogdan, MD