BCP and Neurological Research
Updated: Oct 19
Why does brain health matter?
Your brain controls much of your daily functioning. A healthy brain provides many benefits: higher levels of creativity, improved problem-solving skills, ability to communicate, better memory, and clearer thinking. Human brains are highly complex organs that deserve good care to keep them working at their best. Unfortunately, there are a lot of conditions that can impact brain health. These conditions and disorders include:
Vascular diseases
Degenerative diseases
Brain tissue injuries
Inflammation
Malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies
Immune-mediated diseases
Behavioral health
Insomnia
Addiction
Excessive or lack of ECS (ECS) health dysfunction
Isolation/hyperstimulation
The Heavy Impact of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases range from epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, strokes, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, brain injuries, neuroinfections, multiple sclerosis (MS) and other related disorders. They all share a common underlying cause – the nervous system cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord deteriorate, lose function and eventually die. Neurodegenerative diseases affect millions of Americans:
Alzheimer’s disease – 5 million
Parkinson’s – 1 million
Multiple sclerosis (MS) – 400,000
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – 30,000
Huntingdon’s disease – 30,000
Chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE) - it is estimated that between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports-related mTBIs occur annually, and sport-related head injuries make up 20% of TBI cases in the United States each year(Safinia C, Bershad EM, Clark HB, SantaCruz K, Alakbarova N, Suarez JI, Divani AA. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes Involved with High-impact Sports. J Vasc Interv Neurol. 2016 Oct;9(2):34-48. PMID: 27829969; PMCID: PMC5094259.)
Because most of these diseases are diagnosed mid-to late-life, this number is expected to grow as the U.S. population ages. The care of individuals with these conditions can create serious economic burdens on their families.The U.S. Governmentestimates that annual cost to the U.S. from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and spinal muscular atrophy was over $655 billion dollars in 2020. This number includes direct medical and non-medical costs, as well as indirect costs from lost productivity and unpaid caregiving hours. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that15.3 billion hours of unpaid caregivingwere provided by families, friends, and community members.
Keeping Your Brain Healthy
There are many ways to help your brain stay healthy and fit. Sleep, diet, exercise and staying socially connected are daily activities that have tremendous impact on our brain’s wellness levels. The Cleveland Clinic has a short assessment that helps you figure out where you can make the biggest difference to support your brain’s health. The assessment measures six different areas:
Physical exercise
Food and nutrition
Medical health
Sleep and relaxation
Mental fitness
Social interactions
Their goal is to get people taking positive steps towards improving brain health and lowering the risk of brain diseases. Take the Cleveland Clinic’s Brain Health Challengehttps://healthybrains.org/pillars/
The ECS and Our Nervous System
Researchers are exploring how our body’s ECS (ECS) is linked to brain health. The ECS is a network of cannabinoid receptors and ligands that connects to all of the body’s major organs and systems, including our central nervous, endocrine, and immune systems. It plays a critical role in our body’s ability to maintain homeostasis (balance), and acts as a “master regulator” for many important body functions. When these receptors are activated, they enable two-way communication between body systems; something previously thought to be impossible. When our ECS is out of balance, we experience distress.
When it comes to interacting with our brain, the ECS is widely expressed in the limbic system, prefrontal cortical areas, and brain structures regulating neuroendocrine stress responses, which explains the key role of this system in the control of emotions. The ECS maintains brain homeostasis throughout our life, from early development to death, affecting brain plasticity (the brain’s ability to change as a result of experience) and repair, learning, memory, and moods.
Taking Care of Your ECS
ECS research spans neurological, immune, metabolic, sensory, and cardiovascular signaling.
To build and maintain a healthy ECS, healthcare professionals recommend an unprocessed, whole food-based diet that includes balanced omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, 7-8 hours of sleep, regular physical exercise, mindfulness and meditation exercises, as well as positive social interaction and connections. All of these are important in maintaining healthy endocannabinoid levels. Cognitive challenges (puzzles, games, crossword or sudoku, learning languages, participating in hobbies, group sports, etc.) and positive emotional interactions might strengthen the ECS, which is built around a network of neuro-synapses that modify human behavior.
Deficiencies of the ECS are associated with brain disorders and neurotransmitter deficiencies, such as the critical transmission of acetylcholine in Alzheimer’s disease, dopamine in parkinsonian syndromes, and serotonin and norepinephrine in depression.
Phytocannabinoids that have been well-studied include compounds derived from the cannabis plant: cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN),tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabichromene (CBC). BCP is a plant-derived CB2 agonist.
Terpenes comprise a large class of plant compounds studied across multiple areas of biological research.
Research on BCP includes CB2, inflammatory, oxidative, metabolic, and neurological signaling.
BCP and Neurological Research
Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease
Despite extensive research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), its diagnosis and treatment
remain challenging, and no effective therapies are currently available. Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease whose major risk factor is age (Nguyen and Endres, 2021). After decades of research, scientists have concluded that beta-amyloid plaques, which areabnormal levels of a naturally occurring protein that have clumped together, collect between neurons and disrupt cell function.In addition, tau proteins, responsible for neuron's internal support, disorganize themselves into intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Thus, these plaques and tangles are associated with disrupting normal brain synapse function and causing neuron cell death.
Research examines BCP in neurological and oxidative-stress pathways.
Source: Protective Effects of (E)-β-Caryophyllene (BCP) in Chronic Inflammation
Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Italy
Published: 26 October 2020 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33114564/
Neuro‐inflammation + Migraine
Neuroinflammation is a central feature of several degenerative diseases such as autoimmune disorders and multiple sclerosis. The ECS seems to play an important role in regulating inflammation and the body’s pain response.
Chronic pain is a serious social burden. It has been estimated that around 10% of the population worldwide suffers from long-lasting pain, including migraines.
Source: Wong J.J., Côté P., Tricco A.C., Rosella L.C. Examining the effects of low back pain and mental health symptoms on healthcare utilisation and costs: A protocol for a population-based cohort study. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e031749. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031749. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Research includes neuropathic and sensory-signaling models.
Due to its lipophilicity(ability of a chemical compound to dissolve in fats, oils, or lipids), BCP easily penetrates cell membranes and the blood-brain-barrier, while still presenting good oral bioavailability (Bioavailability refers to the extent a substance or drug becomes completely available to its intended biological destination(s))
Significant dose-dependent antinociceptive (inhibits or blocks the sensation of pain) responses were produced by BCPwithout the presence of gastric damage, unlike typical pain drugs.
Source: The Food Additive β-Caryophyllene Exerts Its Neuroprotective Effects Through the JAK2-STAT3-BACE1 Pathway Ocean University of China, China Feb. 2022https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8919047/
Epilepsy
Seizure-related and neurological signaling have also appeared in BCP research.
Mental Health
The search for medicines to relieve pain and cure various neurological diseases is an ancient (up to 60,000 years ago) process and is still ongoing. Use of medicinal plants and/or plant‐derived natural products to alleviate behavioral concerns such as anxiety, depression and psychoses continues to gain interest from scientists owing to their safety profile, higher efficacy, and age‐old use in various traditional practices.
Chronic and uncontrolled stress are common causes of anxiety and depression, which alter the nervous, endocrine, and immune system, even causing neuroinflammation. These changes evoke the cognitive symptoms and physiologic changes of depression such as feeling melancholy, lack of motivation, and helplessness.
Research on BCP includes mood-, stress-, and reward-related signaling.
Conclusion
Published experiments examine beta-caryophyllene in neurological signaling, oxidative-stress biomarkers and neuroinflammatory pathways. For example, a 2014 mouse-model study investigated CB2-dependent effects on inflammatory and neuropathic pain responses (PMID 24210682). This research connects plant-derived BCP with receptor pharmacology and nervous-system biology.
More resources from Blair Medical Group:
To learn more about the ECS and beta-caryophyllene, visit our resource section. Read about how our ECS works as a master regulator, and how it interacts with other systems. https://www.blairmedicalgroup.com/endocannabinoid-system
Additional research resources:
A systematic review on the neuroprotective perspectives of beta‐caryophyllene Phytotherapy Research. 2018;1–13.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30281175/
da Silva Oliveira GL, da Silva JCCL, Dos Santos C L da Silva AP, Feitosa CM, de Castro Almeida FR. Anticonvulsant, Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Properties of the β-caryophyllene in Swiss Mice: Involvement of Benzodiazepine-GABAAergic, Serotonergic and Nitrergic Systems. Curr Mol Pharmacol. 2021;14(1):36-51. doi: 10.2174/1874467213666200510004622. PMID: 32386503.
Asth L, Cruz LC, Soyombo N, Rigo P, Moreira FA. Effects of β-caryophyllene, A Dietary Cannabinoid, in Animal Models of Drug Addiction. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2022 Sep 27. doi: 10.2174/1570159X20666220927115811. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36173065.
Scandiffio R, Geddo F, Cottone E, Querio G, Antoniotti S, Gallo MP, Maffei ME, Bovolin P. Protective Effects of (E)-β-Caryophyllene (BCP) in Chronic Inflammation. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 26;12(11):3273. doi: 10.3390/nu12113273. PMID: 33114564; PMCID: PMC7692661.
Research references
Cheng et al. (2014): BCP in an Alzheimer-like mouse model. An APP/PS1 transgenic mouse study investigated BCP, cognitive measures, amyloid burden and neuroinflammation, examining the involvement of CB2 and PPAR-gamma signaling.
Hu et al. (2022): BCP and cerebral ischemia pathways. Rat cerebral-ischemia and cultured-astrocyte experiments investigated BCP alongside ferroptosis, oxidative injury and NRF2/HO-1 signaling.
Comments