As more biomass from the hemp and marijuana markets is accessible, research on the medical potential of individual cannabinoids has become a larger focus for the scientific and medical communities. In a new study conducted jointly by researchers at the University of Utah and the University of Northern Colorado, the effects of the CBG cannabinoid on Fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (also known as NASH) were studied.
According to Stanford Medicine, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, the medical name for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is "liver inflammation and damage caused by a buildup of fat in the liver...the fat causes inflammation and damages cells in the liver. Because of the damage, the liver doesn't work as well as it should."
Symptoms of Nash include abdominal swelling, pain/discomfort in the upper right abdomen, and even fibrosis. At the time of this writing, there is no cure for NASH. Instead, doctors will look at underlying causes such as obesity and diet.
The study published by the two universities tackles the inflammation and fibrosis associated with NASH. Cannabigerol, or CBG for short, is one of the non-psychoactive cannabinoids found within the hemp and marijuana plants. Researchers took 36 8-week-old male mice and divided them into two groups. The first group was used as a control group while the second group was divided into subgroups and fed diets containing various levels of CBG.
After being euthanized on the final day of the study, liver tissue was harvested and weighed before further examination. According to the report shared via MDPI, " results suggest that the low dose of CBG treatment has a higher potential for alleviating liver damage due to MCD-induced NASH symptoms, compared to high dose of CBG which caused elevated liver damage."
The results of this study are considered preliminary, however, offer valuable insight into how CBG can be used medically. At the same time, it also stresses the importance of balance while exploring the limitations of the CBG cannabinoid.