CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 143Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMedicinal Plant ResearchPhytochemistry and Biological Activities

Cannabis Roots: A Traditional Therapy with Future Potential for Treating Inflammation and Pain

Open access
Ryz, Natasha R., Remillard, David J., Russo, Ethan B.·2017·Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research
DOI 10.1089/can.2017.0028PMC PMC5628559
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Introduction: The roots of the cannabis plant have a long history of medical use stretching back millennia. However, the therapeutic potential of cannabis roots has been largely ignored in modern times. Discussion: In the first century, Pliny the Elder described in Natural Histories that a decoction of the root in water could be used to relieve stiffness in the joints, gout, and related conditions. By the 17th century, various herbalists were recommending cannabis root to treat inflammation, joint pain, gout, and other conditions. There has been a subsequent paucity of research in this area, with only a few studies examining the composition of cannabis root and its medical potential. Active compounds identified and measured in cannabis roots include triterpenoids, friedelin (12.8 mg/kg) and epifriedelanol (21.3 mg/kg); alkaloids, cannabisativine (2.5 mg/kg) and anhydrocannabisativine (0.3 mg/kg); carvone and dihydrocarvone; N -( p -hydroxy- β -phenylethyl)- p -hydroxy- trans -cinnamamide (1.6 mg/kg); various sterols such as sitosterol (1.5%), campesterol (0.78%), and stigmasterol (0.56%); and other minor compounds, including choline. Of note, cannabis roots are not a significant source of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol, or other known phytocannabinoids. Conclusion: The current available data on the pharmacology of cannabis root components provide significant support to the historical and ethnobotanical claims of clinical efficacy. Certainly, this suggests the need for reexamination of whole root preparations on inflammatory and malignant conditions employing modern scientific techniques.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1089/can.2017.0028

Cites

2 of 2 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Cannabis contains nitrogen-containing specialized metabolites including alkaloids cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine, which are exclusive as of yet to Cannabis.

    “The nitrogen-containing (NC) specialized metabolites in Cannabis, which include alkaloids cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine, exclusive as of yet to Cannabis, simple amines with valuable activity like hordenine, produced notably by barley, and amides commonly found in medicinal plants, namely coumaroyltyramine and derivatives, as well as cannabisins.”

    From Exploring the Lesser-Known Bioactive Natural Products of Plant Species of the Genus Cannabis L.: Alkaloids, Phenolic Compounds, and Their Therapeutic Potential (2025) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Active Compounds in Cannabis Roots section identifies cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine as alkaloids found in cannabis roots. It does not say they are exclusive to Cannabis, so the exclusivity claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The spermidine-type alkaloids reported in Cannabis include cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine.

    “The spermidine-type alkaloids reported in Cannabis include cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine (Figure 1 and Figure 2) [13,21,30,40].”

    From Exploring the Lesser-Known Bioactive Natural Products of Plant Species of the Genus Cannabis L.: Alkaloids, Phenolic Compounds, and Their Therapeutic Potential (2025) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Active Compounds in Cannabis Roots section reports both cannabisativine and anhydrocannabisativine as alkaloids identified in cannabis roots. Our copy does not classify either as a spermidine-type alkaloid, so that part of the claim is unsupported. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 47

  1. [7]James R Pharmacopoeia universalis: or, A new universal English dispensatory. Hodges & Wood: London, 1747; 31: 836
  2. [9]O'Shaughnessy WB On the preparations of the Indian hemp, or Gunjah: Cannabis indica their effects on the animal system in health, and their utility in the treatment of tetanus and other convulsive diseases. Prov Med J Retrosp Med Sci. 1843; 5: 363– 369 PMC5592602 30161735
  3. [10]Meyer FG, Trueblood EWE, Heller JL, et al. The great herbal of Leonhart Fuchs: De historia stirpium commentarii insignes, 1542 [notable commentaries on the history of plants]. Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA, 1999
  4. [13]Smith FP, Stuart GA Chinese materia medica; vegetable kingdom. American Presbyterian Mission Press: Shanghai, China, 1911
  5. [15]Rumpf GE, Beekman EM The poison tree: selected writings of Rumphius on the natural history of the Indies. University of Massachusetts Press: Amherst, MA, 1981: xii
  6. [16]Benoist J Réunion: cannabis in a pluricultural and polyethnic society. In: Cannabis and culture. Rubin V (ed.). Mouton Publishers: The Hague, 1975: 227– 234
  7. [17]Forster E History of hemp in Chile. J Int Hemp Assoc. 1996; 3: 72– 77
  8. [18]Slatkin DJ, Doorenbos NJ, Harris LS, et al. Chemical constituents of Cannabis sativa L. root. J Pharm Sci. 1971; 60: 1891– 1892 5158016
  9. [19]Russo EB, Marcu J Cannabis pharmacology: the usual suspects and a few promising leads. Adv Pharmacol. 2017; 79: 6 8 28826544
  10. [20]Sethi VK, Jain MP, Thakur RS Chemical investigation of wild Cannabis sativa L. roots. Planta Med. 1977; 32: 378– 379 594216
  11. [22]Chandler RF, Hooper SN Friedelin and associated triterpenoids. Phytochemistry. 1979; 18: 711– 724
  12. [23]Sainsbury. Friedelin and epifriedelinol from the bark of Prunus turfosa and a review of their natural distribution. Phytochemistry. 1970; 9: 2209– 2215
  13. [24]Elsohly MA, Turner CE, Phoebe CH Jr, et al. Anhydrocannabisativine, a new alkaloid from Cannabis sativa L. J Pharm Sci. 1978; 67: 12 4 619102
  14. [25]Turner CE, Hsu MH, Knapp JE, et al. Isolation of cannabisativine, an alkaloid, from Cannabis sativa L. root. J Pharm Sci. 1976; 65: 1084– 1085 957120
  15. [26]Lotter HL, Abraham DJ, Turner CE, et al. Cannabisativine, a new alkaloid from Cannabis sativa L. root. Tetrahedron Lett. 1975; 16: 2815– 2818
  16. [27]Kuethe JT, Comins DL Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-cannabisativine. J Org Chem. 2004; 69: 5219– 5231 15287764
  17. [28]Slatkin DJ, Knapp JE, Schiff PL, et al. Steroids of Cannabis sativa root. Phytochemistry. 1975; 14: 580– 581
  18. [29]Mole ML Jr, Turner CE Phytochemical screening of Cannabis sativa L. II. Choline and neurine in the roots of a Mexican variant. Acta Pharm Jugosl. 1973; 23: 203– 205
  19. [31]Stout JM, Boubakir Z, Ambrose SJ, et al. The hexanoyl-CoA precursor for cannabinoid biosynthesis is formed by an acyl-activating enzyme in Cannabis sativa trichomes. Plant J. 2012; 71: 353– 365 22353623
  20. [32]Lawrence RH, Waller GR Glandular structures of Cannabis sativa L. and cannabinoid production. Plant Physiol. 1974; 53: 5– 1316658651
  21. [33]Guo X, Harada C, Namekata K, et al. Spermidine alleviates severity of murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011; 52: 2696– 2703 21228387
  22. [34]Yang Q, Zheng C, Cao J, et al. Spermidine alleviates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis through inducing inhibitory macrophages. Cell Death Differ. 2016; 23: 1850– 1861 27447115 PMC5071574
  23. [35]Bouic PJ The role of phytosterols and phytosterolins in immune modulation: a review of the past 10 years. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2001; 4: 471– 475 11706278
  24. [36]Antonisamy P, Duraipandiyan V, Ignacimuthu S, et al. Anti-diarrhoeal activity of friedelin isolated from Azima tetracantha Lam. in Wistar rats. South Ind J Biol Sci. 2015; 1: 34– 37
  25. [37]Goncalves JC, Oliveira Fde S, Benedito RB, et al. Antinociceptive activity of (-)-carvone: evidence of association with decreased peripheral nerve excitability. Biol Pharm Bull. 2008; 31: 1017– 1020 18451538
  26. [38]de Sousa DP, de Farias Nobrega FF, de Almeida RN Influence of the chirality of (R)-(-)- and (S)-(+)-carvone in the central nervous system: a comparative study. Chirality. 2007; 19: 264– 268 17299731
  27. [39]Mahboubi M Mentha spicata as natural analgesia for treatment of pain in osteoarthritis patients. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2017; 26: 1– 4 28107842
  28. [40]Aswar UM, Bhaskaran S, Mohan V, et al. Estrogenic activity of friedelin rich fraction (IND-HE) separated from Cissus quadrangularis and its effect on female sexual function. Pharmacognosy Res. 2010; 2: 138– 145 21808556 PMC3141304
  29. [41]Queiroga CL, Silva GF, Dias PC, et al. Evaluation of the antiulcerogenic activity of friedelan-3beta-ol and friedelin isolated from Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae). J Ethnopharmacol. 2000; 72: 465– 468 10996287
  30. [42]Montanari T, Bevilacqua E Effect of Maytenus ilicifolia Mart. on pregnant mice. Contraception. 2002; 65: 171– 175 11927121
  31. [43]Sunil C, Duraipandiyan V, Ignacimuthu S, et al. Antioxidant, free radical scavenging and liver protective effects of friedelin isolated from Azima tetracantha Lam. leaves. Food Chem. 2013; 139: 860– 865 23561182
  32. [44]Ee GC, Lim CK, Rahmat A, et al. Cytotoxic activities of chemical constituents from Mesua daphnifolia. Trop Biomed. 2005; 22: 99– 102 16883274
  33. [45]Utami R, Khalid N, Sukari MA, et al. Phenolic contents, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Elaeocarpus floribundus Blume. Pak J Pharm Sci. 2013; 26: 245– 250 23455191
  34. [46]Wang D, Xia M, Cui Z New triterpenoids isolated from the root bark of Ulmus pumila L. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2006; 54: 775– 778 16755042
  35. [47]Setzer WN, Shen X, Bates RB, et al. A phytochemical investigation of Alchornea latifolia. Fitoterapia. 2000; 71: 195– 198 10727820
  36. [49]Thao NT, Hung TM, Lee MK, et al. Triterpenoids from Camellia japonica and their cytotoxic activity. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2010; 58: 121– 124 20045980
  37. [50]Somwong P, Suttisri R, Buakeaw A New sesquiterpenes and phenolic compound from Ficus foveolata. Fitoterapia. 2013; 85: 1– 7 23274776
  38. [51]Rodger JR Cannabis roots. JAMA. 1971; 217: 1705– 1706 4937389
  39. [52]Ham Ten M, Fokkens J, Lousberg RJ, et al. Effects of Cannabis roots on the heart. JAMA. 1973; 225: 52 5 4740349
  40. [53]Mole ML, Buelke J, Turner CE Letter: Preliminary observations on cardiac activities of Cannabis sativa L. root extracts. J Pharm Sci. 1974; 63: 1169– 1170 4852897
  41. [55]Smith HH Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians. Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, 1928; 4: 175– 326
  42. [56]Moerman DE Native American ethnobotany. Timber Press: Portland, OR, 1998
  43. [57]Russo EB Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Br J Pharmacol. 2011; 163: 1344– 1364 21749363 PMC3165946
  44. [58]Clarke RC, Merlin MD Cannabis: evolution and ethnobotany. University of California Press: Berkely, 2013
  45. [59]Small E Evolution and classification of Cannabis sativa (marijuana, hemp) in relation to human utilization. Botanical Reviews 2015; 81: 189– 294
  46. [60]Piomelli D, Russo EB The Cannabis sativa versus Cannabis indica debate: an interview with Ethan Russo, MD. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2016; 1: 44– 46 28861479 PMC5576603
  47. [62]Irshad M, Ahmad S, Pervez A, et al. Phytoaccumulation of heavy metals in natural plants thriving on wastewater effluent at Hattar industrial estate, Pakistan. Int J Phytoremediation. 2015; 17: 154– 158 25254600

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Ryz, N. R., Remillard, D. J., & Russo, E. B.
Affiliations
  • Ryz Rémi
  • PHYTECS
Corresponding author
Ryz, Natasha R.
ORCID
Russo, Ethan B.
Venue
Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2017-01-01
Volume
2
Issue
1
Pages
210-216
ISSN
  • 2378-8763 (ISSN-L)
  • 2578-5125
DOI
10.1089/can.2017.0028
PMC
PMC5628559
OpenAlex
W2743053775
Cited by
143
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 4
FWCI
0.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Medicinal Plant Research
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
Keywords
medical cannabis, inflammation, pain, gout, joint pain, triterpenoids, friedelin, epifriedelanol, carvone, dihydrocarvone, sterols, ethnobotany, history of medicine, herbal medicine, anti-inflammatory agents

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review