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. 2021 Jan 19;16(1):e0245471.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245471. eCollection 2021.

Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa's pharmacological properties and health effects: A scoping review of current evidence

Xin Yi Lim  1 , Terence Yew Chin Tan  1 , Siti Hajar Muhd Rosli  1 , Muhammad Nor Farhan Sa'at  1 , Syazwani Sirdar Ali  1 , Ami Fazlin Syed Mohamed  1
Affiliations

Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa's pharmacological properties and health effects: A scoping review of current evidence

Xin Yi Lim et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Introduction: Hemp (Cannabis sativa subsp. sativa), commonly used for industrial purposes, is now being consumed by the public for various health promoting effects. As popularity of hemp research and claims of beneficial effects rises, a systematic collection of current scientific evidence on hemp's health effects and pharmacological properties is needed to guide future research, clinical, and policy decision making.

Objective: To provide an overview and identify the present landscape of hemp research topics, trends, and gaps.

Methods: A systematic search and analysis strategy according to the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis-ScR (PRISMA-ScR) checklist on electronic databases including MEDLINE, OVID (OVFT, APC Journal Club, EBM Reviews), Cochrane Library Central and Clinicaltrials.gov was conducted to include and analyse hemp research articles from 2009 to 2019.

Results: 65 primary articles (18 clinical, 47 pre-clinical) were reviewed. Several randomised controlled trials showed hempseed pills (in Traditional Chinese Medicine formulation MaZiRenWan) improving spontaneous bowel movement in functional constipation. There was also evidence suggesting benefits in cannabis dependence, epilepsy, and anxiety disorders. Pre-clinically, hemp derivatives showed potential anti-oxidative, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-neuroinflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-acne, and anti-microbial activities. Renal protective effects and estrogenic properties were also exhibited in vitro.

Conclusion: Current evidence on hemp-specific interventions are still preliminary, with limited high quality clinical evidence for any specific therapeutic indication. This is mainly due to the wide variation in test item formulation, as the multiple variants of this plant differ in their phytochemical and bioactive compounds. Future empirical research should focus on standardising the hemp plant for pharmaceutical use, and uniformity in experimental designs to strengthen the premise of using hemp in medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram of screening process.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Number of hemp-specific primary articles published from year 2009–2019.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Country distribution of hemp-specific primary articles published from year 2009–2019.
(Adapted and reprinted from www.mapchart.net/world.html under a CC BY license, with permission from mapchart.net, original copyright 2014).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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