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authors Kathryn M. Nelson ORCID , Jonathan Bisson ORCID , Gurpreet Singh ORCID , James G. Graham ORCID , Shao-Nong Chen ORCID , J. Brent Friesen ORCID , Jayme L. Dahlin ORCID , Matthias Niemitz ORCID , Michael A. Walters ORCID , Guido F. Pauli ORCID
journal Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (RoMEO status: White)
subjects Pharmacognosy IMPS Artifacts Cannabis

This Perspective of the published essential medicinal chemistry of cannabidiol (CBD) provides evidence that the popularization of CBD-fortified or CBD-labeled health products and CBD-associated health claims lacks a rigorous scientific foundation. CBD’s reputation as a cure-all puts it in the same class as other “natural” panaceas, where valid ethnobotanicals are reduced to single, purportedly active ingredients. Such reductionist approaches oversimplify useful, chemically complex mixtures in an attempt to rationalize the commercial utility of natural compounds and exploit the “natural” label. Literature evidence associates CBD with certain semiubiquitous, broadly screened, primarily plant-based substances of undocumented purity that interfere with bioassays and have a low likelihood of becoming therapeutic agents. Widespread health challenges and pandemic crises such as SARS-CoV-2 create circumstances under which scientists must be particularly vigilant about healing claims that lack solid foundational data. Herein, we offer a critical review of the published medicinal chemistry properties of CBD, as well as precise definitions of CBD-containing substances and products, distilled to reveal the essential factors that impact its development as a therapeutic agent.

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categories publications science

authors Kathryn M. Nelson ORCID , Jayme L. Dahlin ORCID , Jonathan Bisson ORCID , James Graham , Guido F. Pauli ORCID , Michael A. Walters ORCID
journal Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (RoMEO status: White)
subjects Pharmacognosy Phytochemistry Curcumin IMPs PAINS Review

Curcumin is a constituent (up to ∼5%) of the traditional medicine known as turmeric. Interest in the therapeutic use of turmeric and the relative ease of isolation of curcuminoids has led to their extensive investigation. Curcumin has recently been classified as both a PAINS (pan-assay interference compounds) and an IMPS (invalid metabolic panaceas) candidate. The likely false activity of curcumin in vitro and in vivo has resulted in >120 clinical trials of curcuminoids against several diseases. No double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial of curcumin has been successful. This manuscript reviews the essential medicinal chemistry of curcumin and provides evidence that curcumin is an unstable, reactive, nonbioavailable compound and, therefore, a highly improbable lead. On the basis of this in-depth evaluation, potential new directions for research on curcuminoids are discussed.

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categories publications science