In our latest CannMed 2018 speaker interview, David Meiri provides some amazing insight into how he and his team are working to understand the specific cannabis compounds that can be used to kill cancer cells. What they have found so far is fascinating.
By testing different cannabis extracts on cancer cells with specific genetic mutations, they can identify which cannabis strains are effective in killing a certain type of cancer cell. From there, they dig deeper into the cell’s mechanisms to figure out how the cannabis compounds block, activate, or change the pathways and determine the minimum compounds needed to produce the effect.
Using this approach Dr. Meiri and his team have found a specific combination of three compounds that kills leukemia cells. Interestingly, if one of those compounds is excluded from the extract, it will not kill the cell. This finding seems to confirm the theory of an entourage effect; however, all 100+ compounds found in the cannabis plant are not needed in this case. What’s even more interesting is that the effective compounds they identified are not the major cannabinoids or terpenes we are all familiar with. In fact, one compound hasn’t even been named in the literature!
Watch the video below to learn more about Dr. Meiri’s work, and be sure to purchase tickets to CannMed 2018 where he will share the team’s latest findings!