Coalition Brewing to Release Two Flowers IPA – CBD and Hemp-Infused Beer

By D.J.
Source: brewpublic.com

After releasing the first commercially available cannabidiol (CBD) beer late last year, Coalition Brewing is back at it with its new Two Flowers IPA, a CBD and hemp-infused beer. This is the latest in what is said to be an evolving series of CBD and hemp-based beers. In the future the brewery plans to experiment with various beer styles including saisons, sour and tart beers and even stouts.

Two Flowers IPA will be released this evening at Tin Bucket in North Portland. From 5:00 to 8:00pm join the crew from Coalition Brewing along with Bill the Cannabis Science Guy from Half Baked Labs who greatly assisted Coalition in developing the beer. Then next Wednesday, January 25th, the crew will be out at ABV Taproom from 5:00 to 8:00pm

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Here is more from the press release that Coalition Brewing sent over on Two Flowers IPA.

About the Beer
The base style of this beer is a west coast IPA – light, crisp, bitter, and refreshing.  Hemp juice adds a grassy bitterness that mirrors and augments the natural bitterness of hops.  We selected hops renowned for their citrus qualities to reflect the citrus terpenes present in the CBD oil infused in this beer. The result is nothing short of delicious! A light grassy bitterness greets your tongue, giving way to notes of citrus, with clean, dry, and refreshing finish with 6 % ABV 60 IBUs – about 5mg of CBD per 10z

We didn’t want to create a gimmick product by just putting CBD oil into an existing beer. In order to showcase the close connections of hops and hemp, we used a few unique processes. In addition to CBD oil (which provides the effective dose and terpene profile), we also use hemp juice as a flavor addition. Hemp juice is a bit like wheat grass, adding a grassy, bitter note that augments and elevates the natural bitterness of hops. Meanwhile, we attempted to mirror some of the citrusy terpene notes of the CBD by selecting Cascade and Centennial hops, both renowned for their citrus qualities. – Elan Walsky

Synergy of CBD, Hops and Beer
There is a natural synergy between hemp and hops, and between the craft beer and cannabis industries. Biologically speaking, hops and hemp are very closely related. Taxonomically, they are both in species Cannabecae, with separate genus Humulus (hops), and Cannabis (hemp). They share many genetic similarities, which in practical terms mean that both plants produce many of the same terpenes, or flavor and aromatic compounds. A common tasting note for IPAs is to describe them as smelling and tasting like cannabis, which is no surprise given their shared terpene profiles. In addition, alpha-acid, the bittering component of hops, is actually a cannabinoid…though it is not psychoactive, it is closely similar in structure to both CBD and THC, all of which are derived from a precursor molecule called isoprene.

In addition to the biological similarities, the industries of craft beer and cannabis share many similarities. Cannabis is experiencing rapid commercial growth, analogous to the craft beer boom. As more producers enter the market, it’s important that they embrace the spirit of collaboration and friendly competition that is a hallmark of the craft beer industry. In addition, both fall under the regulatory purview of the OLCC (and likely the TTB, once it’s federally legal, fingers crossed).  – —- Elan Walsky

The Project Moving Forward
We will be making this project a series, encompassing different styles and recipes from Sours, Saisons to Stouts. We are working with suppliers and people in the industry sourcing new strains, materials and practices to be showcased in the beers. We’d like to, at some point, do some very direct strain matching of particular hops and particular strains of CBD.

There will also be a strong educational component to the project. We will be providing materials to bars and staff that will have some facts and information about CBD and the beer. We will be holding a number of events around town where people can learn more about the beer from the brewing side, the cannabis side and overall information on CBD. Education is key to dispel misinformation and overall make people more comfortable about CBD and Beer. – Phil Boyle

The first of these events can meet the crew from the brewery and our Bill the Cannabis Science Guy from Half Baked Labs who helped use in developing the beer.

Tin Bucket January 19th 5-8 PM
ABV Taproom January 25th 5 – 8 PM

We will be trying to keep up making this beer, we are seeing an exciting demand and request for the beer in the PDX market. We are hopeful to roll this beer out in the SW Washington market in the later part of February followed by further distribution elsewhere in Oregon.

To find out more about the beer and where to get it on tap now. Check out http://www.coalitionbrewing.com/cbdbeer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DJ

D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 20 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter at @hopapalooza.

Powering the Italian hemp model

Source: hemptoday.net

Rachele Invernizzi’s hemp processing firm, SouthHemp, operates across an area in southern Italy that embraces 120 farms.

Italian processor SouthHemp is gradually filling up capacity at its new decortication plant in Crispiano-Taranto in southern Italy and in the process helping to incubate new hemp businesses.

“There are many young farmers involved and new food-processing plants for seeds are coming online,” Rachele Invernizzi, SouthHemp’s founder and president said of the 9-region area that’s the focus of her company’s operations at the moment. In total, SouthHemp’s reach embraces some 120 farms. While the factory has an ultimate capacity to process 500 ha., current production is at about 300 ha. in the factory, which recently ended its second full year of operation, Rachele said.

Wide range of products

That production of various hemp-based supplies goes to such firms as bio-plastics maker Kanesis of Sicily, and Canapa Cruda, a specialty paper supplier in central Italy’s Fabriano Marche region. Animal litter, mulch and five sizes of totally dedusted hemp shives also come out of the SouthHemp plant.

Public Service

While helping to build up the local hemp economy, SouthHemp is also active in public service, most recently having organized a hemp field inside a nearby prison where the operation is being used to train prisoners nearing their parole dates. They will gain skills in making hand-made paper, weaving with hemp fiber and baking bread from hemp seeds.

“The director loved the idea and gave us about 3,000 sq. m. where we’ve already sown for seeds and fiber,” Rachele said.

SouthHemp, which also is a certified seed vendor, spends a lot of time with its farmers, whom Rachele sees as the heart of her business. After supporting them during planting season, her firm helps organize a schedule of meetings, conventions and conferences that also attract agronomists, industry associations, landowners and other potential end users to share knowledge, expertise and resources.

“We talk about agriculture, agricultural techniques and everything needed to get them to conduct agricultural tests with hemp. We also talk about current markets for end-use, and possible opportunities based on those markets,” Rachele said.

Supporting Research

Meanwhile, SouthHemp is also actively involved in hemp research with ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, in Brindisi, and is studying fitoremediation with Crea Energy, also from Brindisi.

“There’s a great thrill in being in a market at the very beginning of an era. Everything needs to be done, and that’s just fantastic,” Rachele said. “The potential of south Italy both for agricultural production and for innovation is there, so establishing hemp markets is a key first challenge.”

A First for Colorado: Tree Free Hemp Is Producing Paper From Seed to Sheet

By Kate McKee Simmons
Source: weedworthy.com

For the first time, hemp paper is being produced in Colorado from seed to sheet. Loveland's Tree Free Hemp has been producing hemp paper since 2013, but until this year, it's been getting the fiber from other countries. Now the entire process is local.

"It's grown in Colorado, it's processed in Colorado, it's manufactured in Colorado, it's printed in Colorado. It's truly homegrown," says Morris Beegle, a former concert promoter now focused on promoting hemp through the Colorado Hemp Company, which he founded in 2012, and the NoCo Hemp Expo.

Morris Beegle believes in hemp.

Beegle wants to unleash all the potential the hemp plant has to offer, since it is "the most complete and useful plant available to humankind," he says. He was convinced those uses included paper, so he formed Tree Free Hemp and kept fiddling with a formula to make the process local.

At first, Beegle explains, Tree Free Hemp made a couple of batches of hand sheets to make sure that the formula his team had created would work. Once they got the formulas down, they started production in earnest, creating upwards of 2,000 sheets that are about a foot and a half long and fourteen inches wide and can be divided.Today the plants are grown by hemp farmers in Sterling, then processed in Fort Lupton. The process takes the stalks and runs them through a counter-current reactor that separates the pulp, the lignins and the sugars. Each of those are used for different purposes; the pulp is mixed with recycled materials to make paper.

"They're all handmade," Beegle says. "It's got specialty art purposes [like for watercolors]. We're doing custom hand-numbered posters for concerts."

But hemp deserves a starring role of its own. It's important to shine the light on the cool companies and the top thought leaders in the hemp business, Beegle says: "We've got to give them a platform to promote what they've done and try to get this industry moving."

Industrial Hemp Could Save the World [infographic]

By Mat Lee
Source: anewdomain.net



As soon as politics and greed get out of the way, hemp will save the world. Here’s a great infographic explaining the hundreds of uses of hemp.

There’s a ton of great hemp-y information in this infographic, so take your time, and take it all in. After all, hemp has over 50,000 different uses, most of which are better for us and the planet than what is currently being used. Especially in industries like textiles, plastics and even fuel. Thanks to Brittney Broten for creating this awesome industrial hemp infographic.

Infographic Courtesy of Brittney Broten

Hemp, man!

For more information, check out these other great hemp articles.

• Drug War Facts has a whole page dedicated to Hemp.
• GlobalHemp.com has a cool transcript of the original 1942 USDA Film, “Hemp for Victory,” which panegyrized a bunch of different legit hemp uses. This film was made to encourage farmers in the states to grow hemp to support the war effort during WWII.
• Ever wonder why marijuana became illegal in the first place? It’s a very sad and interesting, eye opening story of racism, yellow journalism, super shady politics and so much more. Read about it here on DrugWarrant.com.
• TreeHugger.com has a good read detailing seven more amazing industrial uses for hemp.
• VoteHemp.com has some great legislation and educational information about hemp. They are the nation’s leading hemp grassroots advocacy organization after all.

A hemp haven? Overlooked provision in Prop 64 may have a big impact in California

By Rob
Source: sandiegouniontribune.com

It’s not amber waves of grain that Christopher Boucher sees in his dreams, but emerald waves of hemp. 

“I think you’re going to see a lot of industry move into California to set up operations,” said Boucher, whose decades of advocacy for the plant has earned him the nickname in some quarters as “Johnny Hempseed.” 

“There are so many different players in the industry, so much investment money for people who want to set up their operations.”

California voters passed Proposition 64 back in November, legalizing recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older. But one part of the proposition was little-noticed — a provision allowing for the production of industrial hemp.

“Practically nobody knew about it, no one talked about it,” said Lawrence Serbin, president of Hemp Traders, a company based outside Long Beach that bills itself as the largest supplier of hemp fiber products in the country. “Everyone overlooked it and I believe more money will be made from that provision than in recreational” marijuana.

California is not the first state to legalize hemp production but its sheer size and ample agricultural base has backers thinking the Golden State may soon tower over the U.S. market.

But getting from dormancy to dominance may hinge on how quickly and effectively the state’s regulatory apparatus gets established. And then there is the larger question of whether hemp will live up to the hype.

For now, the hemp industry is relatively small — about $600 million nationally. 

Products using hemp range from items such as rope, clothing, textiles, lotions to even construction materials such as strengtheners for concrete and the automotive industry in things like door panels.

In this 2013 file photo, volunteers harvest a hemp field in Colorado. California recently passed Proposition 64, which has a provision allowing industrial hemp to be grown in the Golden State. (AP Photo/P. Solomon Banda)

However, the sharpest growth may come from hemp’s health and medicinal applications in products like nutritional supplements, protein powders and oils that come from hemp-derived CBD, short for cannabidiol-based derivatives. 

CBD has been used as a treatment for juvenile epilepsy. 

Last month, the Hemp Business Journal predicted the CBD market will grow 700 percent, becoming a $2.1 billion industry in the next three years.

“This is quantum growth in the economics of this,” said Boucher, who works out of his Oceanside office as director of development for CBD manufacturer Ananda Scientific, makers of Hygia Nutrients, dietary supplements. “What other crop and agriculture commodity even falls into this category?”

But first, some much-needed clarification is in order.

Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species — Cannabis sativa.

Hemp and marijuana often get lumped together but there is a crucial distinction.

The active ingredient in pot that gets you high is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a psychoactive chemical. A typical marijuana plant has a THC level of about 15-20 percent.

Hemp, on the other hand, must have a THC level of 0.3 percent or lower to get classified for industrial production, according to federal law. 

“You can smoke it, it just won’t get you high,” said Jeffrey Miron, with a laugh. 

The director of undergraduate studies in the department of economics at Harvard, Miron is a long-time advocate for legalizing marijuana and also works at the free-market think tank, the Cato Institute. 

Hemp has “been around for a long time,” Miron said. “It was used quite actively. The government encouraged farmers to grow it during World War II, then it gradually fell victim to its relationship with marijuana. And so it's been suppressed for most of the last five, six decades.”

As more states legalize recreational and medicinal use of marijuana, hemp’s backers feel the time is ripe for a resurgence in the growing and cultivating of pot’s often misunderstood sibling.

“There were a lot of states in this past election that passed legalization initiatives but only California had the industrial provision,” said Serbin. 

Most states allow hemp production for research purposes or pilot programs but slightly more than a dozen (it depends on the source one talks to) have OK’d it for commercial purposes.

Most hemp manufacturers in the U.S. look north to Canada or overseas to supply them with the seeds and the raw material needed to make things like shirts and CBD products.

That may likely change when California gets into the game.

Boucher said the company he works for is already looking to buy property to grow hemp.

“I can’t really disclose where but we’ll just say the Imperial Valley and Southern California,” Boucher said. “We’re looking for farmland.”

California figures to be a prime location to grow hemp. Boucher said the plant grows easily and uses only about one-third the water that a crop like cotton requires.

And the state’s mild climate, Boucher thinks, will make it a more attractive place to plant than states like Oregon or Colorado.

“Weather is a big predicament when it comes to the success of your crop,” said Boucher. “So your odds of success here are a lot greater than other states where you have (bad) weather, where weather can wipe out your crop. And it happens.”

In addition to the Imperial Valley, the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley figure to provide fertile fields for prospective hemp growers.

Serbin has set up a meeting Jan. 12 at his company’s 5,000-square-foot warehouse that will act as a networking event “for those interested in doing anything with industrial hemp.”

Now that Prop 64’s clearly-stated hemp provision has passed, backers think farmers who were nervous about growing the plant will jump in.

“We’re a huge agricultural state,” said Serbin. “We’re going to be No. 1 in hemp very soon because of our population.”

California has a population of 38.8 million, almost seven times larger than Colorado and nearly 10 times bigger than Oregon. Colorado planted its first hemp crop in 2014 and Oregon issued its first hemp license in 2015. 

A Canadian variety of a female hemp plant in a greenhouse at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The plant is being grown for research purposes. (Ted Kirk / AP)

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will eventually regulate hemp in the state but it’s still an open question as to how long it will take for the agency to set up a licensing regime.

In addition to approving who gets to grow and cultivate hemp, regulators will likely also have to test hemp fields to ensure they don’t exceed the 0.3 percent THC threshold.  

“At this point there’s not a whole lot to say,” said Steve Lyle, CDFA director of public affairs, in an email last month to the Union-Tribune.

The department is waiting on the state attorney general’s office to clarify the scope of CDFA’s authority.

Boucher thinks hemp farming may start as early as April.

“There could be people who will set up operations, get their fields ready and basically be ready to jump to planting some time in the spring,” he said.  

Serbin sees an opportunity for his business, which generates about $2 million a year in sales with a workforce of four full-time employees, to expand while also cutting costs.

In the past, Serbin’s company sold medium-density fiber boards made from hemp. But he had to import the product from China.

“But now that we’ll be growing it here (in California), I can find a factory to grow hemp and have them make the boards right there,” Serbin said.

Boucher sees the same thing happening when it comes to buying hemp seeds, which have hybridized versions to specifically suit whatever industrial application a cultivator is looking to produce — whether it be for plywood, textiles or CBD. 

“I used to import seeds from China and just the carbon foot print and the cost and the timelines were bad,” Boucher said. “Hopefully, that supply chain is going to end and it’s all going to be grown here.”

In a sign the marijuana market is going mainstream, Scotts Miracle-Gro plans to invest about a half-billion dollars in the pot business. It spent $135 million in 2015 on two California-based businesses that sell fertilizers, soils and accessories to marijuana growers.

Will Scotts look to get into the California hemp business? Questions from the Union-Tribune to the company and its hydroponics subsidiary went unanswered.

But Boucher expects national and international companies to move into the state.

“If you look at the whole industry, we’re talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that we don’t have to import anymore,” Boucher said. “It just opens the door for the global economy, I think.”

But Harvard’s Miron has doubts.

“My view is, the market will decide,” Miron said. “It will be whatever it will be. I am probably on the skeptical side because in countries where hemp has been legal already, I don’t think we’ve seen it become a major product.”

Worldwide, only about 200,000 acres were devoted to hemp cultivation in 2011, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Italy. In comparison, corn is planted on more than 85 million acres in the U.S. alone. 

Governments in Finland and the United Kingdom provide hemp producers with subsidies and other countries extend them to hemp producers through more general agricultural subsidies.

“Will (hemp) persist in a marketplace without the benefit of any subsidy? Maybe,” Miron said. “I don’t think we really know that for sure yet.”

A 2004 study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison concluded hemp production in the U.S. “is not likely to generate sizeable profits,” citing in part the labor-intensive nature of harvesting the plant. Some farmers avoid using mechanical combines in order to protect their hemp stalks. 

A more recent study by the agriculture department at the University of Kentucky in 2013 predicted hemp production in that state will lead to job growth in the “dozens” rather than in the hundreds.

Other obstacles remain on the legal, bureaucratic and political fronts.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists cannabis — and by extension, marijuana —as a Schedule I drug, in the same classification as LSD or heroin.

Although DEA has no enforcement power over hemp products, it insists it has power to oversee hemp cultivation and says growers need to get a permit from the agency. The only exception comes from the 2014 Farm Bill that allows states agricultural departments, colleges and universities to cultivate without a permit but only for educational and research purposes.

What’s more, the DEA has long expressed the suspicion that growing large industrial hemp fields could hide the production of illegally-grown marijuana.

Hemp’s backers dispute DEA’s claims of authority but for years the ambiguity has scared off potential farmers and growers from entering the market.  

Another question mark for hemp stems from president-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, for U.S. Attorney General. Sessions has been a steadfast opponent to marijuana legalization. 

Hemp, as mentioned, is distinct from pot but an outspoken opponent at the U.S. Attorney General’s Office may slow any momentum for the hemp industry.

Trump himself has made no reference to hemp in any public pronouncements. In February 2015, Trump said he supported medical marijuana but said legalizing recreational pot is “bad — and I feel strongly about that” while appearing before a conservative group.

“We don’t know what a new attorney general’s going to do,” said Boucher, but “we believe they’re going to honor states’ rights.”

Any signs of uncertainty don’t diminish the enthusiasm of Serbin, who said a corner has been turned for the hemp industry in the U.S. in general and California in particular.

“Now that it’s legal in California, I have the opportunity to expand my business into hemp board, into CBD products, hemp fiber products, things like that,” Serbin said. “There are things I can do here that I wasn’t able to do before.

“I’ve been in business since 1990, so I have 27 years of ideas.” 

Fly the Friendly Skies with Hemp

By Kathy Garton
Source: marijuanatimes.org

Don’t be surprised if, by this time next year, you see a small hemp plane soaring overhead. The world’s first aircraft made from 75 percent hemp is due to take-off from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina – site of the Wright Brothers’ historic take-off – later this year. By replacing fiberglass with plant-based composites (hemp) and plastics, the 4-seater plane weighs less and is friendlier to the atmosphere. Add to this hemp-based bio-fuel (if approved by aviation regulations) and you have made a big, positive impact on pollution problems.

Derek Kesek is CEO and team leader of Hempearth Group Ltd.; they are the company responsible for taking on this project. Kesek is no stranger to working with nature to create a healthier planet. A former organic-restaurant owner in Burlington, Ontario, he founded Hempearth Group in 2012 to focus on developing hemp products for mass use.

Kesek cites Richard Branson and Elon Musk as being huge influences on his decision to move full-steam ahead on hemp projects.

Says Kesek, “This plane project is just our first experiment with industrial hemp, and we plan to explore many uses. Once we establish structural testing and information from the hemp project, we will take that and work on the next best implication. The sky may not be the limit.” 

The design and manufacture of the hemp plane is under contract with Velocity, Inc., a Florida-based small-plane manufacturer. The company tested the strength and durability of woven hemp material before committing to the proposal. The plane will be the color of natural hemp fiber, with a wingspan of 36 feet. Everything from the outer shell and wings to seats and pillows will be constructed of hemp-based material.

Hemp is up to ten times stronger than fiberglass, lighter, flame retardant and leaves virtually zero footprint on the environment. Hemp is also the most bio-diverse crop on earth and has over 25,000 uses and counting. Canada has been ahead of the U.S. in the growth of industrial hemp since the late 1990s and would, no doubt, be instrumental in providing the material needed for such a large project.

Crohn’s Disease And CBD

Source: hempgenix.us

Crohn’s Disease, is a serious form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). It is caused by a combination of various environmental and genetic factors, in addition to a person’s immune system. This disease can be uncomfortable, painful and debilitating and there is no cure for it.

Crohn’s affects more than half a million American’s digestive tract – which results in extreme weight loss, severe vomiting, bloody stool, diarrhea and abdominal pain. It may also result in arthritis as well as eye and skin conditions.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is mainly found in hemp. It is currently available legally in all fifty states following the passage in 2015 of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act. It is making major strides as a possible treatment for Crohn’s as well as other types of gastrointestinal diseases.

The following are abstracts from three promising studies published by the National Institute for Health that relate to Crohns, Colitis and CBD:

Cannabidiol in inflammatory bowel diseases

Abstract

The mini review highlights the significance of cannabidiol (CBD) as a potentially therapeutic drug for IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases). Actual IBD pharmacological treatments need to be expanded towards searching for low-cost and low-toxicity drugs that can be given by themselves or in combination with conventional anti-IBD drugs for increasing their efficacy during therapy for relapsing types of colitis. Cannabis preparations in the past have been considered to be promising new pharmacological tools given their anti-inflammatory role for IBD in addition to other kinds of gut problems. However, due to their psychotropic effect, their use for clinical therapy has been severely limited. CBD is an extremely promising compound given that is shares the common cannabinoid beneficial effects on the gut and also lacks having any psychotropic effects. Its activity for years has been mysterious for both pharmacologists and gastroenterologists. However, it is now clear that the compound might interact at extra-cannabinoid receptor system sites, like peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma. What makes CBD such as a promising candidate for developing a new anti-IBD drug class in this strategic interaction.

Crohn’s Disease And CBD

Cannabidiol, a non-psychotropic and safe ingredient of the Cannabis sativa marijuana plant

Abstract

Millions of individuals are affected by inflammatory bowel disease. However, the pharmacological treatments that are available are unsatisfactory and disappointing. Cannabidiol, a non-pschotropic and safe marijuana ingredient, exerts mechanisms (e.g. inhibits endocannabinoids enzymatic degradation) and pharamalogical effects (e.g. antioxidants) that potentially benefit an inflamed gut. Therefore, we investigated the effects of cannabidiol within a colitis murine model. Colitis was induced within mice by administering dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Assessment of inflammation was made both histologically and macroscopically. Inside the inflamed colon, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 were evaluated by endocannabinoids via isotope dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, interleukin-10 via ELISA, interleukin-1beta and Western blot. The effect that cannabidiol had on oxidative stress was evaluating using human colon adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells. Cannabidiol reduced colon injuries as well as endocannabinoid, interleukin-10, interleukin-1beta, and inducible iNOS (however not cyclooxygenase-2) expression changes associated with 6, 4 2-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid administration. Within Caco-2 cells, lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species production were reduced by cannabidiol. In conclusion, the likely safe compound cannabidiol, prevents experimental colitis within mice.

Systemic and topical cannabidiol improves trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid colitis within mice

Abstract

Aims and Background:

It is now that Cannabis sativa compounds exert anti-inflammatory properties, and some of these do not induce any psychotropic side effects. One side effect-free phytocannabinoid is Cannabidiol (CBD). When given intraperitoneally, it improves chemically induced colitis within rodents. We tested here the possibility of whether oral and rectal application of CBD could ameliorate colonic inflammation as well, since these types of application might represent a better way to deliver drugs within the human colitis.

Methods

Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid was used to induce colitis in CD1 mice. Individual groups were treated with CBD either intrarectally (20 mg/kg), orally (20 mg/kg) or intraperitoneally (10 mg/kg). The myeloperoxidase (MPO) assay, histopathology and macroscopic scoring were used to evaluate colitis.

Results

Intraperitoneal CBD treatment of mice resulted in improved colonic inflamation. Intrarectal CBD treatment resulted in a decrease in MPO activity and significant improvement in disease parameters. Oral treatment, which used the same dose as with rectum, did not have an ameliorating effect on colitis in mice.

Conclusion:

The data from this study indicates that intrarectal cannabinoid delivery, as well as intraperitoneal application, might be a very useful therapeutic administration method to take for treating colonic inflammation.