Experimental Studies and First Retrospective Clinical Data Suggest a Possible Benefit of CBD in COVID-19

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 damages human cells and organs by multiple mechanisms. Intriguingly, preclinical studies have demonstrated that cannabidiol (CBD) may interact in many ways with virus entry and cell stress on one hand, and with inflammatory mechanisms affecting the lung and other organs on the other. A number of very recent in vitro and in silico studies demonstrate that CBD may be able to affect a high number of different proteins that are involved in the infection process, among them the Glucose Regulated Protein 78, heme oxygenase 1 (HO1), the virus-specific protease SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and apelin. Furthermore, a number of animal studies confirmed independently the anti-inflammatory and organ protective properties of CBD. As there is still no optimal treatment known, highly purified magisterial phyto-CBD has been included to a standard therapy for COVID-19 as an adjunct anti-inflammatory drug. A retrospective analysis of data of 30 patients hospitalised for COVID-19 and who received adjuvant low dose CBD (up to 300 mg/day), show a more pronounced reduction of virus load, normalisation of lymphocyte counts and of other abnormal laboratory parameters when compared to a non-matched group of patients who did not receive CBD.