Chili Pepper Cannabinoids Can Heal Gut Illnesses

It should come as no surprise to cannabis enthusiasts that other plants contain healing and helpful cannabinoids, as the information has been widely available through scientific research and data for over 20 years now. But, a new study by the University of Connecticut published their findings on April 24 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on the fascinating receptors and cannabinoids in herbs and vegetables, with specific attention to chili peppers.

University of Connecticut School of Medicine researchers discovered that a natural compound found in chili peppers, Capsaicin, is a perfect fit for the receptors in your digestive tract, and binds to them to create anandamide, a cannabinoid that can calm your body’s inflammatory reactions in your GI.

This discovery is helpful to scientists looking to create new treatments for Type 1 diabetes, colitis and other disorders that damage or disorient the gut.

Anandamide is a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that binds to the THC receptors. It’s been called the “bliss molecule,” aptly named after ananda, the Sanskrit word for “joy, bliss or happiness.” It is created in areas of the brain that involve memory, motivation, higher thought processes and movement control. It plays an important role in pain, appetite and fertility as well. It also stops cancer cell production.

Although we naturally produce anandamide when we exercise or function at optimum performance, anandamide is also present in foods like cacao (chocolate), black truffles and cannabis. When anandamide binds to another receptor in your digestive tract, it stimulates the production and function or macrophage, a certain type of white blood cell that lowers the immune response and limits inflammation in the area. This is the same reaction you get when consuming cannabis through the digestive tract. In fact, it may even be more beneficial to combine chili peppers and cannabis (perhaps a spicy meal followed by a cannabis-infused dessert) if you’re suffering from gut-related ailments.

The researchers at University of Connecticut actually cured Type 1 diabetes in mice by feeding them chili peppers. They were able to look more closely and see that is was the anandamide that caused the immune system to calm down. The researchers found they could also get the same successful results by feeding the mice isolated anandamide directly.

Although the successful result of this research is not surprising, the institution-approved, university-accepted and authority-funded aspects of this research in the endocannabinoid system of plants is a sign of beneficial progress for the cannabis plant and endocannabinoid-based science.