Melissa Reynolds, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a serious digestive system disorder that effects an estimated 50 million Americans. IBS affects women disproportionally and is thus a serious women’s health issue. Researchers have explored various treatment options including pharmaceutical drugs, dietary supplements as well as dietary changes to avoid dietary triggers of IBS symptoms, however, there is currently no effective treatment. Recently cannabinoids have been anecdotally suggested to improve on many symptoms of IBS. This study will measure the effects of cannabinoid-containing dietary supplements on symptoms of IBS. Unlike other studies to date, this research will accurately quantify patient plasma levels of cannabinoids to correlate outcomes to cannabinoid exposure.
This research will provide multiple benefits:
First, there will be increased knowledge on bioavailability from acute and chronic administration of various cannabinoids including THC levels when using an industrial hemp product.
Second, the development of non-invasive cannabinoid detection with correlation to plasma cannabinoid levels could greatly ease future clinical studies as well as potentially lead to the creation of improved cannabinoid detection methodologies with real-time quantification.
Third, this research may lead to potential treatment for the IBS patient population and will provide definitive evidence regarding the potential use of cannabinoids in this condition.
Finally, the indirect outcome of the study will also allow the assessment of whether taking specific cannabinoid formulations will cause a positive THC drug test. While this may seem like a minor issue, for those employed in jobs that require drug testing such as first responders, union workers, and health care workers, testing positive for marijuana use through THC levels may cause employment termination.