Study: CBD Increases Lifespan and Late-Stage Life Activity in Worms

A Canopy Growth-led study found that – in a worm model – CBD extended the mean lifespan of the organism 18 percent and increased late-stage life activity 206 percent compared to the untreated control group.

The study used the Caenorhabditis elegans worm, which shares 60 percent to 80 percent of its genes with humans and has a relatively short lifespan of two to three weeks. The study focused on toxicity and lifespan effects of CBD in the preclinical model.

Hunter Land, senior director of Translational and Discovery Science at Canopy Growth, explained that the study results “serve as the only CBD life-long exposure data in an in vivo model to date.”

“Despite widespread use of CBD, no life-long toxicity studies had been conducted to date to determine the impact – or potential impact – of long-term exposure to CBD. …The absence of long-term toxicity gives us the evidence we need as an industry to continue researching the potential health benefits for the broader application of CBD.” – Land in a statement

The study found that no animal died when exposed to high levels of CBD and, surprisingly, high-levels of CBD led to “increased resistance to heat stress by 141 percent compared to the untreated controls,” the researchers note.

The study was conducted in partnership with NemaLife Inc. and is published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research journal.