This has led to researchers from Pakistan to believe that a topical product containing 3% of cannabis seed extract could be an effective anti-ageing ingredient.
They published the findings in the Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Study design
The study recruited 11 Asian males, aged between 20 to 35. Volunteers were healthy with no known dermatological problems.
Researchers conducted a split face skin topographic study, which involves using two different products on each cheek.
One was a placebo, the other a dermocosmetic containing 3% cannabis seed extract.
Both the base and dermocosmetic also contained 14% paraffin oil, 2% Abil EM 90, 1% fragrance and the rest deionised water.
After a washout period of 24 hours, volunteers were tasked to apply two products twice daily over 12 weeks. About 500mg of both products were applied.
During the study, volunteers were not allowed to treat their skin with any other product including sunscreen and moisturiser. Only normal cleansing products were allowed for rinsing.
At 0 hour, first month, second month and third month, researchers took measurements of skin roughness, scaliness, smoothness, and wrinkles.
Skin topography was measured using Visioscan VD98, a UVA-light video camera.
Improved skin appearance
After three months of application, the dermocosmetic product produced significantly better results on skin roughness, scaliness, smoothness and wrinkle reduction.
Roughness improved 6.35% after one month, and 21.77% after three months.
The base product revealed an improvement of 3.92% at the first month, and 7.94% at the third month, which was statistically insignificant.
Skin wrinkles also improved by 6.56% after one month of using the dermocosmetic product, to 13.35% after three months.
Antioxidant properties
Researchers said: “Our findings were directly connected to the reduction in appearance of ageing signs.”
They said this could be attributed to the radical scavenging capacity of Cannabis seeds.
“High quantities of unsaturated fatty acids are present in Cannabis seeds. It is evident that linoleic acid, omega-3 and omega-6 acids shows skin effects. Specifically, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) play importance role in skin appearance, elasticity and barrier functions changes,
“The activities of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids provide reinforcement of skin barrier function, and all of these investigations collectively support our findings to be a good anti-ageing product.
“Topical supplementation of this valuable plant seeds extract could positively improve skin surface and consequently reduce the signs of skin ageing.”
Due to scarce data, they encourage future studies to investigate the anti-ageing and cancer mechanism of cannabis constituents.
Source: Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
doi.org/10.36721/PJPS.2020.33.2.REG.531-535.1
“The Improvement On The Skin Surface By A New Type Of Dermocosmetic Loaded Plant Extract: A Split Face Skin Topographic Study”
Authors: Atif Ali, et al.