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According to recent research, the non-psychoactive component of cannabis known as cannabidiol, or CBD, prevents nicotine from being metabolized, which may help smokers resist the impulse to light up another cigarette.
A group of scientists from Washington State University tested the effects of CBD and its main metabolite on samples of human liver cells and tissue, and they discovered that it inhibited a crucial enzyme for nicotine metabolism. The slowing down of the drug’s metabolism may help nicotine addicts postpone their want to continue inhaling it and the other dangerous components of cigarette smoke.
The results hold promise, but more investigation is required to confirm these effects in people and establish dosage levels, according to Philip Lazarus, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at WSU.
“The whole mission is to decrease harm from smoking, which is not from the nicotine per se, but all the carcinogens and other chemicals that are in tobacco smoke,” said Lazarus, senior author of the study published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. “If we can minimize that harm, it would be a great thing for human health.”
One in five Americans still dies from smoking-related reasons each year, making smoking a serious health concern. Even while they are frequently perceived as less dangerous, many other nicotine delivery methods, such as snuffing, chewing, and vaping, also include compounds that can lead to cancer and other diseases.
In this work, the researchers examined the effects of CBD and its main metabolite, 7-hyroxycannabidiol, on microsomes from human liver tissue as well as on microsomes from specialized cell lines that allowed them to concentrate on specific nicotine metabolism-related enzymes.
They discovered that CBD blocked a number of these enzymes, including the key enzyme responsible for the metabolism of nicotine, known as CYP2A6. According to other studies, the majority of tobacco smokers metabolize more than 70% of nicotine using this enzyme. At relatively low CBD concentrations, the effect of CBD on this specific enzyme proved to be quite substantial, reducing its activity by 50%.
“In other words, it appears that you don’t need much CBD to see the effect,” said Lazarus.
In order to compare smokers receiving CBD to those receiving a placebo over the duration of six to eight hours, Lazarus’ team is preparing clinical research to look at how CBD affects nicotine levels in smokers. They intend to do a much larger study later on to examine the relationship between CBD and nicotine addiction.
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