CBD and CBG Combined With Sodium Pentaborate Show Anti-Cancer Effects in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells, Study Finds
- Combining cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabigerol (CBG) with sodium pentaborate showed anti-cancer effects in human colorectal cancer cell lines HCT-116 and HT-29, with varying results depending on cell type and dosage.
- In HT-29 cells, the combinations led to stronger reductions in cell proliferation and increased early apoptosis compared to sodium pentaborate alone, showing synergistic effects at specific doses.
- The study revealed gene expression changes related to cancer cell proliferation, oxidative stress, and ferroptosis, especially notable with CBG in HCT-116 cells, indicating impacts on iron metabolism and cellular stress response pathways.
- While some dose combinations were synergistic, others were additive or antagonistic, highlighting the importance of cellular context and dosage; further research in 3D tumor models and animal studies is necessary to assess therapeutic potential.
Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), when combined separately with a boron-based compound, produced anti-cancer effects in human colorectal cancer cells, according to a new study published in the journal Molecules.
For the study, researchers from Yeditepe University in Turkey tested the combinations on two human colorectal cancer cell lines, HCT-116 and HT-29. Cells were treated for 72 hours with sodium pentaborate combined with non-cytotoxic concentrations of either CBD or CBG.
The results showed that the effects varied significantly depending on the cancer cell type and the doses used. In HT-29 cells, combinations of sodium pentaborate with CBD or CBG produced stronger reductions in cell proliferation than sodium pentaborate alone, with synergistic effects observed at certain dose combinations.
The treatments also increased early apoptosis, or programmed cell death. In HT-29 cells, early apoptosis increased to 12.14% with the CBD combination and 12.49% with the CBG combination. In HCT-116 cells, early apoptosis reached 9.80% with CBD and 11.80% with CBG.
Researchers also found changes in genes involved in cancer-cell proliferation, oxidative stress and ferroptosis, a form of cell death linked to iron-dependent oxidative damage. The CBG combination in HCT-116 cells produced particularly notable changes, including reduced expression of several proliferation-related markers and substantial alterations in genes involved in iron metabolism and cellular stress responses.
Not all combinations were synergistic. In HCT-116 cells, many dose combinations produced additive or antagonistic effects rather than enhanced activity, underscoring what researchers described as a strong dependence on both cellular characteristics and dosage.
The authors concluded that sodium pentaborate combined with phytocannabinoids can influence multiple pathways involved in colorectal cancer-cell survival and proliferation, but said additional testing in three-dimensional tumor models and animal studies is needed before the approach’s therapeutic potential can be determined.
The findings add to a growing body of preclinical research examining CBD, CBG and other cannabinoids as potential components of combination cancer therapies.