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CBD can increase lifespan, finds tiny worm study

Published on December 2, 2020 by David Wylie

A landmark study has found the long-term use of CBD, found in cannabis plants, can increase lifespan.

Conducted and published by Canopy Growth, the study is the first research completed on the long-term toxicity and lifespan effects of CBD in ‘the preclinical model C. elegans’—a.k.a. studying the effects on tiny worms. The worms share 60-80% of their genes with humans, and their comparatively short lifespan of two to three weeks makes such studies feasible.

Researchers found CBD extended the mean lifespan of the worms by 18%—moreover, it increased late-stage life activity by more than 200%.

CBD did not demonstrate any degree of acute or life-long toxicity or related liabilities at physiological concentrations.

“A major hurdle in the acceptance of CBD as treatment for chronic conditions relates to the general paucity of long-term safety data,” say researchers in the study published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research journal.

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“Because this study was the first to examine the effects of lifelong exposure to CBD, many unanswered questions remain. First, although CBD extended lifespan and increased measures of health span in this C. elegans model, future research is needed to determine potential mechanisms for these findings.”

Canopy says that to the best of its knowledge, this study represents the first long-term toxicity and lifespan research into the effects of chronic exposure to CBD.

“Despite widespread use of CBD, no life-long toxicity studies had been conducted to date to determine the impact – or potential impact – of long-term exposure to CBD,” says Hunter Land, who is Canopy’s senior director of translational and discovery science. “These results serve as the only CBD life-long exposure data in an in vivo model to date, and the absence of long-term toxicity gives us the evidence we need as an industry to continue researching the potential health benefits for the broader application of CBD.”

Introducing CBD to the body can help reduce the symptoms of a wide range of illnesses, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic inflammation, depression, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety and opioid withdrawal, according to different research.

Introducing CBD to the body can help reduce the symptoms of a wide range of illnesses, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic inflammation, depression, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety and opioid withdrawal, according to different research. (Graphic: Adobe Stock)