Study: Terpenes May Offer Pain Relief for Chemo-Induced Neuropathic Pain

A study published this month in the journal Pain suggests that cannabis terpenes – the compounds that give plants their aroma and taste – offer an alternative to chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain relief without any side effects. The study found that terpenes were as effective as morphine at reducing chronic neuropathic pain and a combination of the two analgesics further enhanced pain relief without negative side effects.  

The study, led by John Streicher, PhD, a member of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction and a professor of pharmacology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, used a mouse model of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, which occurs when highly toxic chemotherapy medications cause nerve damage that results in pain. 

The terpenes were tested individually and compared with morphine and the team found that each terpene was successful in reducing the sensation of pain at levels near to or above the peak effect of morphine. When the terpenes were combined with morphine, the pain-relieving effects of all five terpene and morphine combinations were significantly increased. 

“We looked at other aspects of the terpenes, such as does this cause reward? Is this going to be addictive? Is it going to make you feel awful? What we found was yes, terpenes do relieve pain, and they also have a pretty good side effect profile.” — Streicher, in a statement, via the University of Arizona 

“This brings up the idea that you could have a combination therapy,” Streicher added, “an opioid with a high level of terpene, that could actually make the pain relief better while blocking the addiction potential of opioids.” 

The paper, “Terpenes from Cannabis sativa induce antinociception in a mouse model of chronic neuropathic pain via activation of adenosine A2A receptors.” is the first to examine the side effects of terpenes in their role as potential pain relievers.