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Liverworts are a group of about 9,000 species of spore-producing plants. They are distributed all over the world in many places. ( University of Bern )
A type of moss is more likely to be "medically effective" than cannabis, with less of the psychoactive high. It is being marketed online as a "legal high."
'Legal High'
For a long time, it is known to produce tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is used to treat various conditions such as dandiness, loss of appetite, and bread, but is still considered an illegal narcotic and may produce side effects. This is because THC has a strong psychoactive effect when used in higher doses.
It was in 1994 that Japanese phytochemist Yoshinori Asakawa discovered that the liverwort plant Radula perrottetii actually has a substance in it that is rather similar to THC but differ in their three-dimensional structure and has an additional benzyl group. He called it perrottetinene.
Fast forward to just a few years ago, Dr. Jürg Gertsch of the University of Bern found that liverworts have been advertised as "legal high," although it is not known about its pharmacological properties.
More 'Medically Effective' Than THC
Now, animal model studies by Gertsch's research team, along with a research team from ETH Zurich's Department of Chemistry, compared THC and perrottetinene and revealed that they can actually reach the brain easily and triggers or activates cannabinoid receptors in the same way that the body's natural endocannabinoids do. They further found that the substance has an even stronger anti-inflammatory effect in the brain compared to THC and with a weaker psychoactive effect.
In comparison, THC is therapeutically effective in treating various conditions in low doses but has serious psychoactive effects in higher ones. It is for this reason that THC, while effective for some, is still not widely used by many. Simply put, it's possible that perrottetinene may be more "medically effective" compared to THCs, which is more likely to be fully understandable by its pharmacological potentials.
"It's 300,000 years of evolution, produce psychoactive cannabinoids," said Gertsch.
The paper is published in Science Advances.
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