Research Article Open Access

Unveiling the Potential of Cannabis Extracts: Chemical Composition and Pharmacological Insights for Glioblastoma Therapy

Abstract

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive and metastatic brain tumor with a low success rate in treatment, particularly in immune checkpoint-active tumors, resulting in less than three percent of patients surviving beyond five years. Targeted treatments specifically designed for GBM are urgently needed. Our studies have examined the effects of Chemovar Specific Cannabis Extractions (CSCEs), which are cannabis extracts obtained using polar solvents and analysed using Liquid column Chromatography combined with Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS). However, the complex nature of cannabis compounds has hindered the personalization of standard cannabis medicines for GBM due to the unknown synergistic effects of multiple compounds. To address this challenge, our study focuses on exposing U570 cells (a type of brain tumor cell) to chemovar fractions extracted using polar (upper layer) and nonpolar (lower layer) solvents. This approach enables the isolation of a broader spectrum of constituents present in the cannabis extract. By utilizing LC/MS in conjunction with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), we have identified and quantified 11 cannabinoid compounds present in the polar CSCE that individually exhibit significant efficacy in inducing cell death in GBM tumor cells. Conversely, the polar fraction in our experiment did not demonstrate efficacy against U570 cells. The ability to quantify individual compounds within a cannabis extract that selectively induce cell death in brain tumors holds promise for guiding future research and facilitating the development of a standardized CSCE for GBM therapy.

Ashraf Duzan1,2,3*, Mufeed M. Basti2, Waldemar Debinski4

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