Hemp Research

Numerous consumers utilize hemp extracts containing high concentrations of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat a variety of conditions.  The most popular use of CBD is to treat autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn’s disease, or inflammatory conditions, such as rashes, inflammation of the skin and muscle aches, however, CBD is also being used as a sleep aid, to treat epilepsy, and to promote better general health.  There is mounting evidence to support the ability of CBD to act as an anti-inflammatory agent or immunosuppressant and suppress or reduce inflamed immune responses.  The hemp extract nutritional supplement market has been rapidly expanding in the US in large part due to the 2014 Federal Farm Bill and will continue to expand thanks to the recently passed 2018 Federal Farm Bill.  The hemp extract market is estimated to be upwards of $200 million annually and has been projected to exceed $1 billion annually in the next few years.  The Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research specializes in assessing the ability of nutritional supplements and pure compounds isolated from botanicals to act as antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, antiviral, immunostimulant or immunosuppressant agents.  We have thoroughly tested hemp extracts as well as the non-psychotropic cannabinoids that can be isolated form hemp extracts and found that they have very strong anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressant abilities.  Current research focusses on evaluating the immunosuppressant activity of all of the naturally derived non-psychotropic cannabinoids that are produced in hemp as well as their decarboxylated derivatives to determine their ability to act as immunosuppressants in human cellular models and mouse animal models.  GreenWay Herbal Products, LLC, has provided a research grant to study the anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressant ability of hemp extracts and test if they reduce the immune response, which occurs with inflammatory conditions or autoimmune diseases.