Your Skin Produces Marijuana-Like Substance

Your Skin Produces Marijuana-Like Substance

Thursday , July 17, 2008

Marijuana-like substances made by the skin are necessary for a healthy complexion, a new study concludes.

Back up. We've got pot growing out of our skin?

Essentially, yes. The skin has joined the growing club of organs that is known to produce "endocannabinoids" — the body's own reefer. The biggest producer of endogenous pot is the brain.

Significantly, the new study pins down long-suspected connections between brain and skin and between stress and zits.

Your thinking skin

In the skin, explained lead researcher Tamás Bíró of the University of Debrecen, Hungary, these compounds help the sebaceous glands protect us from harsh outer elements, such as the drying effects of wind and sun.

Cannabinoids are thought to have a similar role in the leaves of the marijuana plant.

Among its protective functions, "endo-pot" stimulates oil production and tells hair follicles to stop producing hair.

Whether this explains the plethora of pimples and receding hairlines at Grateful Dead concerts (or those of former band members) has not yet been determined.

The research, funded mostly by the Hungarian and German governments, will be detailed in the October 2008 issue of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.

Why is a psycho-stimulant working outside the brain?

Dermatologists have long suggested that mental states affect the skin, having observed flare-ups of acne, psoriasis, hair loss and other conditions that coincide with stress.

Now they are finding that the skin responds to, and produces, compounds called neuropeptides previously thought to exist exclusively in the brain.

This is said to prove the brain-skin connection by nailing down the mechanism.

"It is working in both directions," said Andrzej Slominski, a researcher at the University of Tennessee who was not involved with the endocannabinoids study but does research on the skin's neuroendocrine system.

Brain-skin connection

Neuropeptides — such as serotonin, melatonin, cortisol and, possibly endocannabinoids — are made by the skin in response to environmental stressors or rewards such as thorns, humidity, sunshine or a refreshing breeze.

These compounds can then spur the brain to alter behavior, Slominski explained.

Conversely, psychological stress sends signals from the brain to the skin.

The discoveries are giving credence to old wives' tales that connect skin condition with mental state. Yes, perhaps exam period did give you that pimple.

Because the skin is less complex than the brain, it knows only a few names for stress, said Slominski.

Therefore, the skin may respond to emotional distress as if the body is under physical attack. Protective lubricants are increased (resulting in oily skin) and less critical functions (like growing hair) may be halted.

Even though the skin is the simpler organ, as primates evolved our skin likely learned to deal with stress before the brain did, said Slominski.

The skin, the body's largest organ, is continuously exposed to a stressful environment, he pointed out. Of all organs, it had the most pressing evolutionary need to develop protective responses.

Later, the skin's stress responses were adopted and perfected by the brain, he said, which explains why the same compounds have similar effects in each organ.

Natural high?

While these discoveries may lead to breakthrough topical treatments, such as the use of endocannabinoids to treat chronically dry and itchy skin, the research may also inspire the pursuit of relaxation in the name of a glowing complexion and a full head of hair.

What about the endo-pot already on our skin? Can it get us high?

"Theoretically, yes," said Bíró.

But, while our skin is constantly pumping out its own type of hash, even if you chewed your arm to bits, he continued, there isn't enough to have a psychological effect.

Sublime - Glad you brought this up.

I may have found a solution for this, but it's preliminary.

First, we know from the study below that CB1 agonists are bad for hair. Last year I looked heavily into CB1 antagonists and found one but with bad sides, plus it was drug--enough said, LOL.

But now the focus is on CB2 agonists, because that promotes hair growth.

J Recept Signal Transduct Res. 2006;26(5-6):709-30.
New natural noncannabinoid ligands for cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptors.
Gertsch J, Raduner S, Altmann KH.

Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland. juerg.gertsch@pharma.ethz.ch

Since the discovery that Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and related cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa L. act on specific physiological receptors in the human body and the subsequent elucidation of the mammalian endogenous cannabinoid system, no other natural product class has been reported to mimic the effects of cannabinoids. We recently found that N-alkyl amides from purple coneflower (Echinacea spp.) constitute a new class of cannabinomimetics, which specifically engage and activate the cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptors. Cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) and CB2 receptors belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors and are the primary targets of the endogenous cannabinoids N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine and 2-arachidonoyl glyerol. CB2 receptors are believed to play an important role in distinct pathophysiological processes, including metabolic dysregulation, inflammation, pain, and bone loss. CB2 receptors have, therefore, become of interest as new targets in drug discovery. This review focuses on N-alkyl amide secondary metabolites from plants and underscores that this group of compounds may provide novel lead structures for the development of CB2-directed drugs.


FASEB J. 2007 Nov;21(13):3534-41.
Inhibition of human hair follicle growth by endo- and exocannabinoids.
Telek A, Bíró T, Bodó E, Tóth BI, Borbíró I, Kunos G, Paus R.

Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Medical and Health Science Center, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.

Recent studies strongly suggest that the cannabinoid system is a key player in cell growth control. Since the organ-culture of human hair follicles (HF) offers an excellent, clinically relevant model for complex tissue interaction systems, we have asked whether the cannabinoid system plays a role in hair growth control. Here, we show that human scalp HF, intriguingly, are both targets and sources of endocannabinoids. Namely, the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide, AEA) as well as the exocannabinnoid delta (9) -tetrahydrocannabinol dose-dependently inhibited hair shaft elongation and the proliferation of hair matrix keratinocytes, and induced intraepithelial apoptosis and premature HF regression (catagen). These effects were inhibited by a selective antagonist of cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1). In contrast to CB2, CB1 was expressed in a hair cycle-dependent manner in the human HF epithelium. Since we successfully identified the presence of endocannabinoids in human HF, our data strongly suggest that human HF exploit a CB1-mediated endocannabinoid signaling system for negatively regulating their own growth. Clinically, CB1 agonists may therefore help to manage unwanted hair growth, while CB1 antagonists might counteract hair loss. Finally, human HF organ culture offers an instructive, physiologically relevant new research tool for dissecting "nonclassical" effects of endocannabinoids and their receptor-mediated signaling in general.

So, referring to the study I listed first, perhaps the alkaloids from Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower type species)
could help us.

Here's the full study:

http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/281/20/14192

This one here is in German, but don't worry, there's lots of pictures

http://www.phytopharmazie.ch/doc/doc_download.cfm?uuid=E8B8C7B514220A6314BC27C7A073A6C3&&IRACER_AUTOLINK&&

http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-2008-1034302

Synthesis and Natural Distribution of Anti-inflammatory Alkamides from Echinacea. Looks like there are two different types of Echinacea which present anti-inflammatory activity.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17971752

Protection against radiation too:

http://www.vetsci.org/2007/abstract/341a.html

When it comes to Echinacea, it's really important to know what part of the plant is used and the species, it'll make or break it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17855021

For anyone who is undergoing serious stress and suffering from hair loss as a result, It would be an interesting experiment to try using either internal Echinacea alkylamides such as this product:

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=2619

Or to use this product topically (with DMSO) to fight stress hormone responses in the skin, since Echinacea alkylamides is the only known natural CB2 agonist.

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=2618&at=0

IH - Do you know if there is anything in hemp seed or hemp seed oil that might make it bad for hair and conversely is there anything in either that would make them good for hair?

So I can smoke my skin and get high? LOL

Sublime - I don't believe so. There might be trace amounts of THC, but at negligible levels. I really wonder if ingesting THC orally, by inhalation or transdermally--what effect would it have.

The endocannabinoids that are produced by stress are the known causes of hair loss, however the studies do suggest that exocannabinoids will to. Anyone know if weed really kills hair?

There was this really cool show a over a decade ago (public access) called "Hemp for Victory." The main guy on the show was in cooperation with the government as a test subject for longterm weed experimentation. He was mostly bald.
I wondered back then the same question.

I was hoping that Echinacea alkylamides would be a way to help stop hair loss, but it turns out the CB2 receptor deals with the endocannabinoid pathway in an area unrelated to hair---back to the drawing board!

Hopefully we can find a safe and natural CB1 antagonist.

When I was under a lot of stress earlier this year, I broke out in eczema
on my skin, something I never had done before. Maybe it had to do with high
stress?

sublime9 wrote:Your Skin Produces Marijuana-Like Substance

I knew it, my sweat always reminded me of good skunk!