The effects of CBD have been researched for years, but less is known about cannabigerol (CBG). Often referred to as the mother of cannabinoids, CBG is where all cannabinoids start before converting to THCA, CBD, and other compounds. With most looking into THC and more major cannabinoids, researchers want to know more about the maternal compound CBG.
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A recent study shows that CBD and CBG may help bones mend faster. The research team set out to discover if CBD and CBG could fill a need in the healthcare world for non-opioid pain relief for bone breaks that wouldn’t impede healing. NSAIDS like ibuprofen and aspirin don’t work for fracture-related pain, and opioids are avoided due to the high risk for addiction.
To discover more about how the cannabinoid combo could help, researchers experimented on 40 rats. Scientists broke a tibia on each rat before running a gamut of tests to gauge pain, including measuring the gait of the animals after the fracture. Rats were given 5 mg of CBD, 5 mg of CBG, 2.5 mg of indomethacin, or 3 mg of celecoxib (NSAIDs) per day to track fracture pain.
Fractured tibias changed their gait, but rodents treated with CBD and CBG displayed a normalized walk despite a tibial break. Indomethacin and celecoxib also corrected the gait parameters. However, the cohort that got celecoxib still swayed a bit compared to the cannabinoid and indomethacin groups.
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After the tests were completed, the rats were euthanized in order to analyze bone cells and regrowth. Through this testing, researchers discovered that the cannabinoids may not only hinder pain from a fracture but might also contribute to the healing process.
“Our data revealed striking similarities between CBD and CBG in promoting both early and late phases of bone healing,” the study reads.
The data uncovered a few mechanisms that indicate CBD and CBG might promote bone regrowth. Rats in the cannabinoid group displayed PDGFRa+ progenitors, the markers that originate the growth of cells. The CBD and CBG group showed a differentiation of these markers, indicating a well-rounded attempt at bone regrowth.
Cannabinoids continued bolstering the healing process into the repair phase. The CBG and CBD group had a high concentration of proteins essential to bone healing and formation. Researchers report that the cannabinoids inhibited cell death and encouraged the growth of bone cells. In fact, CBD and CBG protected and proliferated many types of cells in the test rats.
These results show that cannabinoids are not only a solid option for pain relief following a fracture, but they could help it heal, too. These results are promising for cannabinoid researchers who continue showing the power of the plant. It is also interesting to those in regulated states who might break a bone.