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Review
. 2021 Dec;28(12):7290-7313.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.036. Epub 2021 Aug 19.

Wonder or evil?: Multifaceted health hazards and health benefits of Cannabis sativa and its phytochemicals

Shivika Datta  1 , Praveen C Ramamurthy  2 , Uttpal Anand  3 , Simranjeet Singh  2 , Amritpal Singh  4 , Daljeet Singh Dhanjal  5 , Vaishali Dhaka  5 , Sanjay Kumar  6 , Dhriti Kapoor  7 , Samapika Nandy  8 , Manoj Kumar  9 , Eapen P Koshy  3 , Abhijit Dey  8 , Jarosław Proćków  10 , Joginder Singh  5
Affiliations
Review

Wonder or evil?: Multifaceted health hazards and health benefits of Cannabis sativa and its phytochemicals

Shivika Datta et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Cannabis sativa, widely known as 'Marijuana' poses a dilemma for being a blend of both good and bad medicinal effects. The historical use of Cannabis for both medicinal and recreational purposes suggests it to be a friendly plant. However, whether the misuse of Cannabis and the cannabinoids derived from it can hamper normal body physiology is a focus of ongoing research. On the one hand, there is enough evidence to suggest that misuse of marijuana can cause deleterious effects on various organs like the lungs, immune system, cardiovascular system, etc. and also influence fertility and cause teratogenic effects. However, on the other hand, marijuana has been found to offer a magical cure for anorexia, chronic pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and disturbed sleep. Indeed, most recently, the United Nations has given its verdict in favour of Cannabis declaring it as a non-dangerous narcotic. This review provides insights into the various health effects of Cannabis and its specialized metabolites and indicates how wise steps can be taken to promote good use and prevent misuse of the metabolites derived from this plant.

Keywords: Cannabinoids; Cannabis sativa; Chemical components; Medical marijuana; Phytochemicals; Psychoactive; Tetrahydrocannabinol; Therapeutic roles.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structures of cannabinoids present in Cannabis.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Structures of alkaloids and flavonoid glycosides present in Cannabis.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Structures of terpenoids and steroids present in Cannabis.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Structure of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Chemdraw Version 8.0.3).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Severe effects of Cannabis sativa and THC on the human nervous system.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Multifaceted medicinal attributes of the health hazards of Cannabis sativa.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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