CANNABIS MAY HELP LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE New York, June 20 (IANS) A chemical compound found in cannabis, also known as hashish or marijuana, may help lower blood pressure, say scientists after testing it on rats. Yehoshua Maor, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, has created a synthetic version of a minor cannabis constituent named cannabigerol, which has been shown to help in lowering blood pressure, reported science portal The News Medical. Maor carried out laboratory experiments with rats and found that this novel compound reduced blood pressure when administered to rats in relatively low doses. The additional tests carried out by him also showed that the compound brought about another beneficial effect -- relaxation of the blood vessels. The compounds produced an anti-inflammatory response. These qualities have the potential for development of a valuable new clinical drug with a major market potential, especially for patients suffering from inflammation of the blood vessels as a result of hypertension, and others with metabolic irregularities, Maor believes. Cardiovascular disease accounts for about one-third of all deaths in industrialised countries, and is the leading reason for visits there to physicians as well as for drug prescriptions.

Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 Source: Times of India, The (India) Copyright: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 2006 Contact: toieditorial@timesgroup.com Website: http://www.timesofindia.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/453 __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake