Tag Archives: anti-inflammatory

Oral anti-inflammatory activity of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive constituent of cannabis, in acute carrageenan-induced inflammation in the rat paw.

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Abstract

“Cannabidiol, the major non-psychoactive component of marijuana, has various pharmacological actions of clinical interest. It is reportedly effective as an anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic in murine collagen-induced arthritis.

The present study examined the anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperalgesic effects of cannabidiol, administered orally (5-40 mg/kg) once a day for 3 days after the onset of acute inflammation induced by intraplantar injection of 0.1 ml carrageenan (1% w/v in saline) in the rat. At the end of the treatment prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was assayed in the plasma, and cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, production of nitric oxide (NO; nitrite/nitrate content), and of other oxygen-derived free radicals (malondialdehyde) in inflamed paw tissues. All these markers were significantly increased following carrageenan. Thermal hyperalgesia, induced by carrageenan and assessed by the plantar test, lasted 7 h. Cannabidiol had a time- and dose-dependent anti-hyperalgesic effect after a single injection. Edema following carrageenan peaked at 3 h and lasted 72 h; a single dose of cannabidiol reduced edema in a dose-dependent fashion and subsequent daily doses caused further time- and dose-related reductions. There were decreases in PGE2 plasma levels, tissue COX activity, production of oxygen-derived free radicals, and NO after three doses of cannabidiol. The effect on NO seemed to depend on a lower expression of the endothelial isoform of NO synthase.

 In conclusion, oral cannabidiol has a beneficial action on two symptoms of established inflammation: edema and hyperalgesia.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14963641

Cannabinoids for the treatment of inflammation.

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“Cannabinoids are effective at suppressing immune and inflammation functions in leukocytes in vitro, and in animal models of acute inflammation, such as the mouse hind paw, ear and air pouch models, as well as gastrointestinal, pulmonary, myocardial, vascular, periodontal, neural, hepatic, pancreatic and arthritic inflammation models.

The non-psychoactive cannabinoid receptor CB2 is emerging as a critical target for cannabinoid regulation of inflammation, and thus CB2-selective agonists are undergoing intense investigation and research. This review discusses the evidence for cannabinoid regulation of inflammation across a range of models and highlights the most promising drug candidates.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17520866

Cannabinoid-based drugs as anti-inflammatory therapeutics.

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“In the nineteenth century, marijuana was prescribed by physicians for maladies ranging from eating disorders to rabies. However, as newer, more effective drugs were discovered and as the potential for abuse of marijuana was recognized, its use as a therapeutic became restricted, and only recently has its therapeutic potential been re-evaluated.

 

 Recent studies in animal models and in humans have produced promising results for the treatment of various disorders – such as obesity, cancer, and spasticity and tremor due to neuropathology – with drugs based on marijuana-derived cannabinoids.

 

 Moreover, as I discuss here, a wealth of information also indicates that these drugs have immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties; therefore, on the basis of this mode of action, the therapeutic usefulness of these drugs in chronic inflammatory diseases is now being reassessed.”

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15864274

Prospects for cannabinoids as anti-inflammatory agents.

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Abstract

“The marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa) and preparations derived from it have been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. It is likely that the therapeutic benefits of smoked marijuana are due to some combination of its more than 60 cannabinoids and 200-250 non-cannabinoid constituents. Several marijuana constituents, the carboxylic acid metabolites of tetrahydrocannabinol, and synthetic analogs are free of cannabimimetic central nervous system activity, do not produce behavioral changes in humans, and are effective antiinflammatory and analgesic agents. One cannabinoid acid in particular, ajulemic acid, has been studied extensively in in vitro systems and animal models of inflammation and immune responses. This commentary reviews a portion of the work done by investigators interested in separating the medicinal properties of marijuana from its psychoactive effects. Understanding the mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of nonpsychoactive cannabinoids should lead to development of safe effective treatment for several diseases, and may render moot the debate about “medical marijuana”.”

Cannabinoids as novel anti-inflammatory drugs

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Figure 1

“Cannabinoids are a group of compounds that mediate their effects through cannabinoid receptors. The discovery of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as the major psychoactive principle in marijuana, as well as the identification of cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, has led to a significant growth in research aimed at understanding the physiological functions of cannabinoids. Cannabinoid receptors include CB1, which is predominantly expressed in the brain, and CB2, which is primarily found on the cells of the immune system. The fact that both CB1 and CB2 receptors have been found on immune cells suggests that cannabinoids play an important role in the regulation of the immune system. Recent studies demonstrated that administration of THC into mice triggered marked apoptosis in T cells and dendritic cells, resulting in immunosuppression. In addition, several studies showed that cannabinoids downregulate cytokine and chemokine production and, in some models, upregulate T-regulatory cells (Tregs) as a mechanism to suppress inflammatory responses. The endocannabinoid system is also involved in immunoregulation. For example, administration of endocannabinoids or use of inhibitors of enzymes that break down the endocannabinoids, led to immunosuppression and recovery from immune-mediated injury to organs such as the liver. Manipulation of endocannabinoids and/or use of exogenous cannabinoids in vivo can constitute a potent treatment modality against inflammatory disorders. This review will focus on the potential use of cannabinoids as a new class of anti-inflammatory agents against a number of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that are primarily triggered by activated T cells or other cellular immune components.”

“Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, is a product of the Cannabis sativa plant and the active compounds from this plant are collectively referred to as cannabinoids. For several centuries, marijuana has been used as an alternative medicine in many cultures and, recently, its beneficial effects have been shown in: the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy; anorexia and cachexia seen in HIV/AIDS patients; and in neuropathic pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Cannabinoid pharmacology has made important advances in recent years after the discovery of the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). Cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands have provided an excellent platform for the investigation of the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. It is well known that CB1 and CB2 are heterotrimeric Gi/o-protein-coupled receptors and that they are both expressed in the periphery and the CNS. However, CB1 expression is predominant in the CNS, especially on presynaptic nerves, and CB2 is primarily expressed on immune cells.”

“Cannabinoids are potent anti-inflammatory agents and they exert their effects through induction of apoptosis, inhibition of cell proliferation, suppression of cytokine production and induction of T-regulatory cells (Tregs).”

“Executive summary

  • Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa, and endogenous cannabinoids mediate their effects through activation of specific cannabinoid receptors known as cannabinoid receptor 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2).
  • The cannabinoid system has been shown both in vivo and in vitro to be involved in regulating the immune system through its immunomodulatory properties.
  • Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory response and subsequently attenuate disease symptoms. This property of cannabinoids is mediated through multiple pathways such as induction of apoptosis in activated immune cells, suppression of cytokines and chemokines at inflammatory sites and upregulation of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells.
  • Cannabinoids have been tested in several experimental models of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and hepatitis and have been shown to protect the host from the pathogenesis through induction of multiple anti-inflammatory pathways.
  • Cannabinoids may also be beneficial in certain types of cancers that are triggered by chronic inflammation. In such instances, cannabinoids can either directly inhibit tumor growth or suppress inflammation and tumor angiogenesis.”                      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2828614/

The cannabinergic system as a target for anti-inflammatory therapies.

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“Habitual cannabis use has been shown to affect the human immune system, and recent advances in endocannabinoid research provide a basis for understanding these immunomodulatory effects. Cell-based experiments or in vivo animal testing suggest that regulation of the endocannabinoid circuitry can impact almost every major function associated with the immune system.

 These studies were assisted by the development of numerous novel molecules that exert their biological effects through the endocannabinoid system. Several of these compounds were tested for their effects on immune function, and the results suggest therapeutic opportunities for a variety of inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, atherosclerosis, allergic asthma, and autoimmune diabetes through modulation of the endocannabinoid system.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16918457

Therapeutic potential of cannabinoid-based drugs.

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Abstract

“Cannabinoid-based drugs modeled on cannabinoids originally isolated from marijuana are now known to significantly impact the functioning of the endocannabinoid system of mammals. This system operates not only in the brain but also in organs and tissues in the periphery including the immune system. Natural and synthetic cannabinoids are tricyclic terpenes, whereas the endogenous physiological ligands are eicosanoids. Several receptors for these compounds have been extensively described, CB1 and CB2, and are G protein-coupled receptors; however, cannabinoid-based drugs are also demonstrated to function independently of these receptors. Cannabinoids regulate many physiological functions and their impact on immunity is generally antiinflammatory as powerful modulators of the cytokine cascade. This anti-inflammatory potency has led to the testing of these drugs in chronic inflammatory laboratory paradigms and even in some human diseases. Psychoactive and nonpsychoactive cannabinoid-based drugs such as Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, HU-211, and ajulemic acid have been tested and found moderately effective in clinical trials of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, arthritis, and neuropathic pain. Furthermore, although clinical trials are not yet reported, preclinical data with cannabinoid-based drugs suggest efficacy in other inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17713029

50 years of medicinal plant research – every progress in methodology is a progress in science.

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Abstract

“Many scientific methods of analysis have been developed for the investigation of the constituents and biological activities of medicinal plants during the 50 years since the inaugural meeting of the Gesellschaft für Arzneipflanzenforschung (GA). The chromatographic (e. g., TLC, GLC, HPLC), spectroscopic (e. g., UV, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, MS), and biological (e. g., anticancer, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, antiprotozoal, CNS) techniques utilized for medicinal plant research are briefly reviewed. The contribution that advances in scientific methodology have made to our understanding of the actions of some herbal medicines (e. g., Echinacea, Ginkgo, St John’s wort, Cannabis), as well as to ethnopharmacology and biotechnology, are briefly summarized. Plants have provided many medicinal drugs in the past and remain as a potential source of novel therapeutic agents. Despite all of the powerful analytical techniques available, the majority of plant species has not been investigated chemically or biologically in any great detail and even well known medicinal plants require further clinical study.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12865964

Cannabidiol for neurodegenerative disorders: important new clinical applications for this phytocannabinoid?

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Abstract

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid with therapeutic properties for numerous disorders exerted through molecular mechanisms that are yet to be completely identified. CBD acts in some experimental models as an anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antioxidant, antiemetic, anxiolytic and antipsychotic agent, and is therefore a potential medicine for the treatment of neuroinflammation, epilepsy, oxidative injury, vomiting and nausea, anxiety and schizophrenia, respectively. The neuroprotective potential of CBD, based on the combination of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, is of particular interest and is presently under intense preclinical research in numerous neurodegenerative disorders. In fact, CBD combined with Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol is already under clinical evaluation in patients with Huntington’s disease to determine its potential as a disease-modifying therapy. The neuroprotective properties of CBD do not appear to be exerted by the activation of key targets within the endocannabinoid system for plant-derived cannabinoids like Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol, i.e. CB(1) and CB(2) receptors, as CBD has negligible activity at these cannabinoid receptors, although certain activity at the CB(2) receptor has been documented in specific pathological conditions (i.e. damage of immature brain). Within the endocannabinoid system, CBD has been shown to have an inhibitory effect on the inactivation of endocannabinoids (i.e. inhibition of FAAH enzyme), thereby enhancing the action of these endogenous molecules on cannabinoid receptors, which is also noted in certain pathological conditions. CBD acts not only through the endocannabinoid system, but also causes direct or indirect activation of metabotropic receptors for serotonin or adenosine, and can target nuclear receptors of the PPAR family and also ion channels.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22625422

Cannabinoids and innate immunity: taking a toll on neuroinflammation.

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Abstract

“The biologically active components of cannabis have therapeutic potential in neuroinflammatory disorders due to their anti-inflammatory propensity. Cannabinoids influence immune function in both the peripheral and the central nervous system (CNS), and the components of the cannabinoid system, the cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids), have been detected on immune cells as well as in brain glia. Neuroinflammation is the complex innate immune response of neural tissue to control infection and eliminate pathogens, and Toll-like receptors (TLRs), a major family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that mediate innate immunity, have emerged as players in the neuroinflammatory processes underpinning various CNS diseases. This review will highlight evidence that cannabinoids interact with the immune system by impacting TLR-mediated signaling events, which may provide cues for devising novel therapeutic approaches for cannabinoid ligands.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21479354