CBD is well known for its health benefits. It has anti-inflammatory properties and so, it has been studied as a way to manage many health conditions. New research on the effects of CBD suggests that it can also help speed up healing and relieve pain from oral ulcers. These effects were demonstrated in mice. The study was conducted by researchers from the West China Hospital of Stomatology and the results have been published in the Journal of Dental Research. As per the researchers, the findings of the study can help develop new CBD based medications for oral ulcers.
CBD Can Help Reduce Inflammation
Only a few effective treatments are available for oral ulcers and as CBD is an anti-inflammatory agent, the researchers decided to evaluate if CBD could be beneficial to treat the inflammatory pain associated with oral ulcers. To find this, they made mouse models of oral ulcers and used CBD oral sprays on the ulcers.
Histological and macroscopic evaluations were conducted on the mice and the researchers concluded that CBD can help alleviate the inflammatory pain from mouth ulcers. Apart from pain relief, the topical application of CBD oral spray can lead to faster closure of the wound.
After experimentally establishing that CBD can help accelerate healing and treat pain related to oral ulcers, the researchers set to find the mechanism of this effect of CBD. To find the mechanism of action, the researchers analyzed the RNA datasets that were published and concluded that NLPR3 expression is upregulated remarkably in human oral ulcers.
The NLRP3 inflammasome is a significant section of the human immune system and is responsible for the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that usually responds to cell damage and microbial infections. It was found in another study that high NLRP3 expression is linked to the cause of recurrent aphthous ulcers.
From the study, the researchers found that CBD inactivates NLRP3 inflammasome activation. They also revealed that CBD could decrease the expression of CMPK2, which decreases the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA, resulting in the suppression of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. There was a significant decrease in CMPK2 after using CBD on the ulcers and the research team confirmed that using CBD topically on oral ulcers can help suppress the expression of CMPK2 and thereby attenuate the synthesis of mitochondrial DNA, inactivating the inflammasome.
Final Thoughts
After analyzing the results of this new study on the effects of CBD on mouth ulcers, the researchers hope that the findings will help develop new medications and therapeutic strategies to manage oral ulcers in humans.
