“This study aims to investigate the effects of cannabinoid (CB)-1 and CB2 receptor ligands on intestinal motor function and muscular electrophysiological activity in rodent gastrointestinal (GI) tract…
This is one of the first reports on neuronal regulation of intestinal motility through CB-dependent pathways with potential application in the treatment of inflammatory and functional GI disorders.”
“The plant Cannabis has been used in clinic for centuries, and has been known to be beneficial in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, such as emesis, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal pain.
In this text, we’ll review the components of the endogenous cannabinoid system as well as its role in the regulation of gastrointestinal activities, thus providing relative information for further study.
Moreover, modulation of the endogenous cannabinoid system in gastrointestinal tract may provide a useful therapeutic target for gastrointestinal disorders.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23963077
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/gastrointestinal-disorders/
“Marijuana derived from the plant Cannabis sativa has been used for the treatment of many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and others.
Several cannabinoid receptors, which include the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), CB2, and possibly GPR55, have been identified throughout the GI tract.
These receptors may play a role in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastroprotection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation, and cell proliferation in the gut.
…the regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system has shed new knowledge in this field.
Novel drug targets such as FAAH and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitors appear to be promising in animal models, but more studies are necessary to prove their efficiency.
The promise of emerging drugs that are more selective and peripherally acting suggest that, in the near future, cannabinoids will play a major role in managing an array of GI diseases.”
“A multitude of physiological effects and putative pathophysiological roles have been proposed for the endogenous cannabinoid system in the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas.
These range from effects on epithelial growth and regeneration, immune function, motor function, appetite control, fibrogenesis and secretion.
Cannabinoids have the potential for therapeutic application in gut and liver diseases.
Two exciting therapeutic applications in the area of reversing hepatic fibrosis as well as antineoplastic effects may have a significant impact in these diseases.
This review critically appraises the experimental and clinical evidence supporting the clinical application of cannabinoid receptor-based drugs in gastrointestinal, liver and pancreatic diseases.
Application of modern pharmacological principles will most probably expand the selective modulation of the cannabinoid system peripherally in humans.
We anticipate that, in addition to the approval in several countries of the CB(1) antagonist, rimonabant, for the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions, other cannabinoid modulators are likely to have an impact on human disease in the future, including hepatic fibrosis and neoplasia.”
“Plant cannabinoids, like Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), activate/desensitize thermosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP) channels of vanilloid type-1 or -2 (TRPV1 or TRPV2). We investigated whether cannabinoids also activate/desensitize two other ‘thermo-TRP’s’, the TRP channels of vanilloid type-3 or -4 (TRPV3 or TRPV4), and if the TRPV-inactive cannabichromene (CBC) modifies the expression of TRPV1-4 channels in the gastrointestinal tract…
Cannabinoids can affect both the activity and the expression of TRPV1-4 channels, with various potential therapeutic applications, including in the gastrointestinal tract.”
“We have tested a series of (+)-cannabidiol derivatives… for central and peripheral (intestinal, antiinflammatory and peripheral pain) effects in mice…
We conclude that centrally inactive (+)-cannabidiol analogues should be further developed as antidiarrheal, antiinflammatory and analgesic drugs for gastrointestinal and other peripheral conditions.”
“Cannabis is widely used for treating a number of gastrointestinal ailments…
In the present study, we tested the effects (in rats) of a simple extract of medicinal cannabis (called “MFF”) for its ability to promote resolution of colitis…
These results demonstrate that a simple extract of medicinal cannabis can significantly enhance resolution of inflammation and injury, as well as prevent injury, in the gastrointestinal tract. Interestingly, different cannabinoid receptors were involved in some of the effects. MFF may serve as the basis for a simple preparation of cannabis that would produce beneficial effects in the GI tract with reduced systemic toxicity.”
“The endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS) plays a crucial role in multiple physiological processes in the central nervous system and in the periphery. The discovery that selective cannabinoid (CB) receptor agonists exert a potent inhibitory action on gastrointestinal (GI) motility and pain has placed the ECS in the center of attention as a possible target for the treatment of functional GI diseases…
These data expand our understanding of the ECS function and provide a novel framework for the development of future potential treatments of functional GI disorders.”
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“Cannabis was extensively used as a medicine throughout the developed world in the nineteenth century but went into decline early in the twentieth century ahead of its emergence as the most widely used illicit recreational drug later that century. Recent advances in cannabinoid pharmacology alongside the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) have re-ignited interest in cannabis-based medicines.
The ECS has emerged as an important physiological system and plausible target for new medicines. Its receptors and endogenous ligands play a vital modulatory role in diverse functions including immune response, food intake, cognition, emotion, perception, behavioural reinforcement, motor co-ordination, body temperature, wake/sleep cycle, bone formation and resorption, and various aspects of hormonal control. In disease it may act as part of the physiological response or as a component of the underlying pathology.
In the forefront of clinical research are the cannabinoids delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, and their contrasting pharmacology will be briefly outlined. The therapeutic potential and possible risks of drugs that inhibit the ECS will also be considered. This paper will then go on to review clinical research exploring the potential of cannabinoid medicines in the following indications: symptomatic relief in multiple sclerosis, chronic neuropathic pain, intractable nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and weight in the context of cancer or AIDS, psychosis, epilepsy, addiction, and metabolic disorders.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24006213
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dta.1529/abstract
“Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are among the most widely used analgesics in the world, cause gastrointestinal inflammation that is potentially life-threatening.
Although inhibitors of endocannabinoid catabolic enzymes protect against gastropathy in fasted NSAID-treated mice, the gastroprotective effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of marijuana, have yet to be investigated…
These data indicate that the phytocannabinoid Δ9-THC protects against diclofenac-induced gastric inflammatory tissue damage at doses insufficient to cause common cannabinoid side effects.”