Medical marijuana is becoming more and more accepted as a viable way to treat pain, and now, new research has concluded that it is 30 times more powerful at reducing inflammation than Aspirin.

This discovery was made by researchers at the University of Guelph, and it has created the means to make a derived pain treatment that would offer potent relief without the risk of addiction of other painkillers.

“There’s clearly a need to develop alternatives for relief of acute and chronic pain that go beyond opioids,” explained Professor Tariq Akhtar, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, who worked on the study with MCB professor Steven Rothstein. “These molecules are non-psychoactive and they target the inflammation at the source, making them ideal painkillers.”

In the study, the researchers found that cannabis makes two important molecules called cannflavin A and cannflavin B. These molecules are known as “flavonoids,” and they were first identified back in 1985, when experts found that they have anti-inflammatory benefits that were nearly 30 times more effective gram-for-gram than acetylsalicylic acid (sold as Aspirin). Unfortunately, since research on cannabis was highly regulated, any further study on this stalled for decades. Now that cannabis is legal in Canada, however, Akhtar and Rothstein were able to get to work researching it again.

“Our objective was to better understand how these molecules are made, which is a relatively straightforward exercise these days,” Akhtar said. “There are many sequenced genomes that are publicly available, including the genome of Cannabis sativa, which can be mined for information. If you know what you’re looking for, one can bring genes to life, so to speak, and piece together how molecules like cannflavins A and B are assembled.”

After applying various biochemistry techniques, the research team found cannabis genes were required to create cannflavins A and B. The results of their efforts have created the opportunity to make natural health products containing these important molecules.

“Being able to offer a new pain relief option is exciting, and we are proud that our work has the potential to become a new tool in the pain relief arsenal,” said Rothstein.

As of right now, those who suffer from chronic pain must turn to opioids, which block the brain’s pain receptors but carry the risk of significant side effects and addiction. In contrast, Cannflavins would target pain differently by simply reducing inflammation.

“The problem with these molecules is they are present in cannabis at such low levels, it’s not feasible to try to engineer the cannabis plant to create more of these substances,” Rothstein said. “We are now working to develop a biological system to create these molecules, which would give us the opportunity to engineer large quantities.”

The research team has since teamed up with Anahit International Corp., a Toronto-based company that has licensed a patent from the University of Guelph to biosynthesize cannflavin A and B outside of the cannabis plant.

“Anahit looks forward to working closely with University of Guelph researchers to develop effective and safe anti-inflammatory medicines from cannabis phytochemicals that would provide an alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,” said Anahit chief operating officer Darren Carrigan. “Anahit will commercialize the application of cannflavin A and B to be accessible to consumers through a variety of medical and athletic products such as creams, pills, sports drinks, transdermal patches and other innovative options.”