Hemp Seed Oil Combined With a Special Diet Improved Clinical Scores and Immune Markers in MS Patients | Research

The takeaway

In a double-blind trial of 100 MS patients, co-supplemented hemp seed and evening primrose oils with a hot-nature diet improved disability scores, relapse rates, and inflammatory markers over 6 months.

Read this if you have MS and are interested in nutritional approaches to managing your disease.

Significant improvement in disability scores, relapse rates, and immune markers at 6 months

What the researchers found

One hundred relapsing-remitting MS patients were randomized to three groups: Group A received hemp seed + evening primrose oils with a "hot-nature" dietary intervention, Group B received olive oil, and Group C received the oils without the diet. After 6 months (65 completed), Groups A and C showed significant improvements in disability scores (EDSS) and relapse rates. Immunological markers also improved: IL-17 and IFN-gamma (pro-inflammatory) decreased while IL-4 (anti-inflammatory) increased in Groups A and C.

Group B (olive oil only) showed only borderline improvement in relapse rate and worsening of immunological parameters.

Why it matters

Hemp seed oil is rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids but contains minimal cannabinoids. This study suggests that hemp-derived nutritional components, rather than psychoactive cannabinoids, may have therapeutic value in MS through immune modulation.

The numbers in context

100 patients randomized, 65 completed. Groups A and C: significant improvement in EDSS and relapse rate. IL-17 and IFN-gamma decreased. IL-4 increased. Group B (olive oil): borderline relapse improvement, worsening immune markers.

How the study worked

Double-blind, randomized trial. 100 RRMS patients (EDSS<6). Three groups over 6 months. Outcomes: Mizadj assessment, EDSS, relapse rate, IL-4, IFN-gamma, IL-17.

What this study cannot tell us

High dropout rate (35%). The "hot-nature diet" is based on traditional medicine and may confound the oil supplementation effect. Small sample per group. The dietary intervention was not blinded. Six months is relatively short for MS outcomes. EDSS changes in this range may be difficult to detect.

How to read the evidence

Double-blind RCT with immunological endpoints; moderate evidence with notable dropout rate.

When this study was published

Published in 2013. Nutritional interventions in MS continue to be studied, including fatty acid supplementation.

The bigger picture

This study adds to evidence that nutritional interventions with specific fatty acid profiles can modulate the immune system in MS. The improvement in Th17-related markers (IL-17) connects to other research showing cannabinoids suppress Th17 responses, though the mechanism here is nutritional rather than pharmacological.

Questions still open

Which component (hemp seed oil, evening primrose oil, or the diet) drove the improvement? Would the oils alone be sufficient? How does hemp seed oil's fatty acid profile specifically modulate MS inflammation? Would longer treatment produce larger effects?

Common questions

Does hemp seed oil help MS?

This trial found that hemp seed oil combined with evening primrose oil improved disability scores, reduced relapses, and shifted immune markers in a favorable direction over 6 months. However, the study had a high dropout rate and the dietary co-intervention makes it hard to isolate the oil's effect. Hemp seed oil is nutritional (rich in fatty acids) rather than psychoactive.

Is this the same as cannabis treatment for MS?

No. Hemp seed oil contains minimal to no THC or CBD. Its benefits appear to come from its fatty acid profile (omega-3 and omega-6), which may have anti-inflammatory effects independent of cannabinoid receptors. This is a nutritional supplement approach, distinct from cannabis-based medicines like Sativex.

Read the original research

Immunomodulatory and therapeutic effects of Hot-nature diet and co-supplemented hemp seed, evening primrose oils intervention in multiple sclerosis patients.

Complementary therapies in medicine, 21(5), 473-80

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Rezapour-Firouzi, Soheila; Arefhosseini, Seyed Rafie; Mehdi, Farhoudi; Mehrangiz, Ebrahimi-Mamaghani; Baradaran, Behzad; Sadeghihokmabad, Elyar; Mostafaei, Somaiyeh; Fazljou, Seyed Mohammad Bagher; Torbati, Mohammad-ali; Sanaie, Sarvin; Zamani, Fatemeh. (2013). Immunomodulatory and therapeutic effects of Hot-nature diet and co-supplemented hemp seed, evening primrose oils intervention in multiple sclerosis patients.. Complementary therapies in medicine, 21(5), 473-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2013.06.006