Trending cannabinoids CBD and CBG can counteract the ageing effects of UV exposure and inflammation just as well as, and in some cases more effectively than vitamin C, according to a new white paper.
‘Cannabinoids for the Prevention of Ageing’, authored by Alexia Blake, head of Product Development and Product Research at UK-based wellness company Cellular Goods, detailed how the cannabinoids cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabidiol (CBD) inhibit lipid peroxidation – a well established outcome of UV exposure that is linked to extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown – both alone and in combination when tested on 3D skin tissue models.
CBD (0.5%), CBG (0.75%, 1%) and combinations (0.25% CBD + 0.25% CBG, 0.375% CBD + 0.375% CBG) provided statistically significant inhibition of lipid peroxidation compared with the UVB-exposed vehicle control.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was used as a positive control for lipid peroxidation.
Interestingly, different dose-dependent activities were observed for CBD and CBG. Specifically, there was a dose-dependent increase in activity for CBG, meaning that higher doses resulted in less lipid peroxidation. Whereas CBD had a dose-dependent decrease in activity whereby lipid peroxidation increased with CBD concentration.
The combination of CBD and CBG produced a similar effect to CBD treatments, with a dose-dependent decrease in inhibition activity observed. This, said Blake, suggests that less may sometimes be more in the context of cannabinoid product development.
Likewise, when it came to the release of inflammatory cytokines (eg interleukin 8, IL-8) associated with UVB exposure and sunburn, all cannabinoid treatments provided a statistically significant inhibitory effect for IL-8 compared with the positive anti-inflammatory control.
It was concluded that both CBD and CBG protect against significant UVB-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine release associated with photoageing and inflammageing.
According to Cellular Goods, the results show that CBG and CBD are well positioned to fill the gap for well-tolerated anti-ageing actives due to their potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
