A rare type of moss could be more effective than medicinal cannabis for treating certain medical conditions, according to new research.
The liverwort plant Redula Perrottetii contains a substance similar to that found in the illegal narcotic, researchers at the University of Bern claim.
The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in cannabis can be used in the medical field to deal with certain types of pain, muscle cramps, dizziness and loss of appetite.
The research team in Switzerland, led by Professor Jurg Gertsch, have been exploring the medical uses of ‘perrottetinene’ found in the rare liverwort, which only grows in Japan, New Zealand and Costa Rica.
Cannabis is illegal in the UK, but Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced earlier this year that doctors in England, Wales and Scotland, will be able to prescribe it medicinally on a case-by-case basis.
Professor Gertsch began investigating the pharmacological effects of the natural substance perrottetinene after discovering liverworts were being sold as legal highs online.
Working chemists from Erick Carreira’s team from the ETH Zurich, Professor Gertsch’s research team in Bern biochemically and pharmacologically compared THC and perrottetinene.
Using animal models the team was able to demonstrate that perrottetinene reaches the brain very easily and demonstrates a stronger anti-inflammatory effect in the brain than THC.
Researchers found perrottetinene was less psychoactive than THC, but said more studies were necessary to look at chronic and inflammatory pain.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, said cannabis is rarely used medically because it can have a strong psychoactive effect and is an illegal, controlled narcotic in most countries.
Andrea Chicca, a member of scientific staff in Dr Gertsch’s group, said there is the potential for developing the therapeutic use of perrottetinene or similar substances.