# Hebrew University Study Finds CBD and CBG Reverse Fatty Liver Markers in Mice
Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem report that cannabidiol and cannabigerol improved hepatic energy reserves, restored lysosomal cleanup, and lowered triglycerides and ceramides in a diet-induced obesity model.
Author: CBDWorldNews Editorial Staff
Date: April 13, 2026
A study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology on March 5 found that CBD and CBG, two non-intoxicating cannabinoids, reversed several markers of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in obese mice. The work was led by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and adds to a small but growing body of preclinical evidence on cannabinoid effects in liver metabolism.
MASLD, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, affects an estimated 38% of adults worldwide and roughly 100 million people in the United States. The disease has no approved pharmacological treatment beyond Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ Rezdiffra, which cleared FDA review in 2024 for a narrower MASH indication.
Study Design
Researchers fed mice a high-fat diet for several weeks to induce obesity, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis. The animals then received either CBD, CBG, or a vehicle control over a treatment period. The team measured body composition, blood glucose, circulating lipids, and liver tissue markers, including phosphocreatine levels and cathepsin activity in lysosomes.
Both cannabinoids produced measurable improvements across multiple endpoints. CBG showed a stronger effect on body fat mass, insulin sensitivity, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol. CBD and CBG performed similarly on hepatic energy and lysosomal cleanup metrics.
Two Mechanisms
The researchers attribute the results to what they call “metabolic remodeling” in the liver. Phosphocreatine, a short-term energy buffer, rose in treated animals. That gives hepatocytes a reserve to draw on when stressed by a high-fat diet. Cathepsin activity, which governs how lysosomes break down cellular waste and excess lipid, also recovered.
“CBD and CBG appear to restore two functions that fatty liver disease takes away: how the liver stores energy and how it cleans itself.”
Triglycerides and ceramides, both linked to insulin resistance and hepatic inflammation, fell significantly in the treatment groups. Blood glucose normalized in animals receiving either compound. The CBG group showed the largest drop in total body fat.
Caveats Before Clinical Translation
The study was conducted in mice, not humans. Dosing in preclinical rodent models does not translate directly to human therapeutic doses, and the timing and duration of the intervention in mice compresses a disease process that takes years in people. The authors note that additional work is needed to understand how the findings might apply to patients.
Human trials of CBD for liver disease remain limited. A 2019 phase 2 study of CBD in NAFLD patients showed modest effects on liver fat but no reliable improvement in fibrosis. No registered phase 3 trial of CBD or CBG for MASLD is currently recruiting. Any clinical pathway would likely move through a pharmaceutical development program rather than the dietary supplement channel, because current FDA policy prohibits CBD from being marketed as a supplement.
Where CBD Research Actually Stands
The Hebrew University findings land in a landscape where CBD has cleared one solid scientific bar and many partial ones. Epidiolex, the GW Pharmaceuticals product now owned by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, holds FDA approval for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex. Long-term data show sustained seizure reduction through 144 weeks.
Beyond epilepsy, the evidence is thinner. Clinical trials in progress include a study of oral CBD as an augmentation strategy in early psychosis and a phase 3 trial of a CBD oral solution for focal-onset seizures in patients aged 12 to 75. UCSD and the University of California Health system are running additional cannabinoid trials across pain, anxiety, and substance use indications.
Implications for the Industry
Preclinical studies rarely move markets on their own, but this one lands at a moment when the CBD category is looking for scientific anchors. The Medicare CBD pilot that launched April 1 routes full-spectrum products through CMS Innovation Center models, and physicians participating in those models need evidence to guide clinical conversations.
A mouse study does not provide that evidence on its own. It does, however, suggest a biological mechanism that can be tested in humans and used to frame future trials. For brands building the clinical channel, peer-reviewed work from established academic institutions is the kind of signal that can justify continued investment in research partnerships.
For the broader category, the study reinforces a pattern. The strongest CBD science is emerging from university and hospital-based teams, not from industry-funded research. That pattern will shape which claims the FDA is willing to tolerate when its long-awaited enforcement policy emerges from OMB review.
The Hebrew University paper is one data point. The next step is a human trial.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. CBD products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
