Abstract
“Cannabinoid receptors of type 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2), endogenous ligands that activate them (endocannabinoids), and mechanisms for endocannabinoid biosynthesis and inactivation have been identified in the gastrointestinal system. Activation of CB1 receptors by endocannabinoids produces relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter and inhibition of gastric acid secretion, intestinal motility, and fluid stimulated secretion. However, stimulation of cannabinoid receptors impacts on gastrointestinal functions in several other ways. Recent data indicate that the endocannabinoid system in the small intestine and colon becomes over stimulated during inflammation in both animal models and human inflammatory disorders. The pathological significance of this “endocannabinoid overactivity” and its possible exploitation for therapeutic purposes are discussed here.”
“The endocannabinoid system of the gastrointestinal tract includes not only cannabinoid receptors but also endogenous agonists of these receptors, as well as mechanisms for their biosynthesis and inactivation”
“The main psychotropic constituent of the plant Cannabis sativa and marijuana, Δ9‐tetrahydrocannabinol, exerts its pharmacological effects by activating two G protein coupled cannabinoid receptors.1These are the CB1 receptor, present in central and peripheral nerves (including the human enteric nervous system), and the CB2 receptor, expressed abundantly in immune cells. In rodents, CB1 receptor immunoreactivity has been detected in discrete nuclei of the dorsovagal complex (involved in emesis), and in efferents from the vagal ganglia and in enteric (myenteric and submucosal) nerve terminals where they inhibit excitatory (mainly cholinergic) neurotransmission. In vivo pharmacological studies have shown that activation of CB1 receptors reduces emesis, produces inhibition of gastric acid secretion8 and relaxation of the lower oesophageal sphincter (two effects that might be beneficial in the treatment of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease), and inhibits intestinal motility and secretion. Consistent with immunohistochemical data showing that CB2 receptors are particularly evident in colonic tissues from patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), evidence suggests that CB2 inhibits intestinal motility during certain pathological states.1″
“…endocannabinoids convey protection from enteric hypersecretory states (for example, cholera toxin induced diarrhoea), which is in agreement with anecdotal reports from folk medicine on the use of Cannabis sativa in the treatment of diarrhoea.“
“Overactivity of the endocannabinoid system is becoming a well established concept in human intestinal conditions with an inflammatory component”
“The inhibitory effects of cannabinoids on intestinal inflammation, as well as on intestinal motility and secretory diarrhoea, observed in preclinical studies, increase the potential for their use in the treatment of IBD”
“There is great potential for the development of new therapeutic agents against intestinal inflammation from the endocannabinoid system”
“Conclusions: new therapies for the treatment of IBD from the endocannabinoid system”
Tag Archives: marijuana
Pot Chemical May Curb Inflammation – WebMD
“Marijuana’s active ingredient may curb inflammation and help treat skin allergies.
That news comes from researchers including Meliha Karsak, PhD, and Thomas Tuting, MD, of Germany’s University of Bonn.
Marijuana’s key compound, THC, is a type of chemical called a cannabinoid. The brain contains two types of cannabinoid receptors.
Karsak and colleagues studied mice born with or without cannabinoid receptors. The mice wore ear tags to identify them; those ear tags contained nickel.
The mice without cannabinoid receptors were particularly likely to have allergic skin reactions to the nickel in the ear tags.
The scientists reasoned that the mice’s allergies may have been linked to their lack of cannabinoid receptors.
Karsak’s team tested that theory in several experiments.
First, they turned off cannabinoid receptors in healthy mice. Those mice then became more likely to develop skin inflammation near their nickel ear tags.
Next, the researchers exposed other mice with cannabinoid receptors to a skin irritant. Some of the mice got THC shots after being exposed to the irritant. Others got a THC skin lotion before and after exposure to the irritant.
The THC shot and lotion both helped soothe the mice’s inflamed skin.
“If we dabbed THC solution onto the animals’ skin shortly before and after applying the allergen, a lot less swelling occurred than normal,” Tuting says in a University of Bonn news release.
In the journal Science, the researchers write that their study “strongly suggests” that the body’s cannabinoid system can help tame inflammation and that THC skin lotions have “promising potential” for treating skin allergies caused by contact with irritating chemicals.
However, the researchers didn’t test the THC lotion on skin allergies in people.”
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20070607/pot-chemical-may-curb-inflammation
“Attenuation of allergic contact dermatitis through the endocannabinoid system…These results demonstrate a protective role of the endocannabinoid system in contact allergy in the skin and suggest a target for therapeutic intervention.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556587
Why Cannabis Stems Inflammation
“Cannabis has long been accredited with anti-inflammatory properties. ETH Zurich researchers, however, have now discovered that it is not only the familiar psychoactive substances that are responsible for this; a compound we take in every day in vegetable nutriment also plays a significant role.
People not only rate cannabis sativa L. highly because of its intoxicating effects; it has also long been used as a medicinal plant. Although the plant has been scrutinized for years, surprising new aspects keep cropping up. For example, researchers from ETH Zurich and Bonn University examined a component in the plant’s essential oil that until then had largely been ignored and found it to have remarkable phar- macological effects. The findings open up interesting perspectives, especially for the prevention and treatment of inflammations.
The hemp plant contains over 450 different substances, only three of which are responsible for its intoxicating effect. They activate the two receptors in the body CB1 and CB2. Whilst the CB1 receptor in the central nervous system influences perception, the CB2 receptor in the tissue plays a crucial role in inhibiting inflammation. If the receptor is activated, the cell releases fewer pro-inflammatory signal substances, or cytokines. The scientists have now discovered that the substance beta-carophyllene, which composes between 12 and 35 percent of the cannabis plant’s essential oil, activates the CB2 receptor selectively.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080720222549.htm
Marijuana Has Anti-Inflammatory That Won’t Get You High
“Marijuana supporters have long argued that the plant’s active ingredients, known as cannabinoids, are safe and effective treatments for pain, nausea, and other ailments.
The most active cannabinoid—delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC—is known to have anti-inflammatory properties. But it is also responsible for the plant’s psychotropic effects.
Now researchers say that another cannabinoid, called beta-caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, helps combat inflammation without affecting the brain.
(E)-BCP is already part of many people’s daily diets, the researchers note. Foods that are particularly high in the compound include black pepper, oregano, basil, lime, cinnamon, carrots, and celery.
Essential oils from cannabis plants—whose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drug—contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP.”
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080624-marijuana.html
The cannabinoid system and immune modulation
“Studies on the effects of marijuana smoking have evolved into the discovery and description of the endocannabinoid system. To date, this system is composed of two receptors, CB1 and CB2, and endogenous ligands including anandamide, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, and others. CB1 receptors and ligands are found in the brain as well as immune and other peripheral tissues. Conversely, CB2 receptors and ligands are found primarily in the periphery, especially in immune cells. Cannabinoid receptors are G protein-coupled receptors, and they have been linked to signaling pathways and gene activities in common with this receptor family. In addition, cannabinoids have been shown to modulate a variety of immune cell functions in humans and animals and more recently, have been shown to modulate T helper cell development, chemotaxis, and tumor development. Many of these drug effects occur through cannabinoid receptor signaling mechanisms and the modulation of cytokines and other gene products.
It appears the immunocannabinoid system is involved in regulating the brain-immune axis and might be exploited in future therapies for chronic diseases and immune deficiency.”
“The medicinal uses of marijuana were described centuries ago for diseases such as asthma, migraine, pain, convulsions, and anxiety (reviewed in ref.). More recently, emphasis has been placed on marijuana’s putative, beneficial effects on appetite, glaucoma, spasticity in multiple sclerosis, pain, and inflammation.
Recent experimental evidence supports marijuana’s therapeutic potential in some of these maladies.
The active plant ingredients in marijuana belong to the C21-cannabinoid compounds including the primary psychoactive compound, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This cannabinoid along with others such as Δ8-THC, cannabidiol, and cannabinol, as well as chemical analogs, have been extensively studied over the years for their biological and therapeutic properties. Some of the properties of these agents have included effects on immunity ranging from suppression of resistance to infection to enhancement of IL-1 production by macrophages. These early studies about the immunomodulating effects of these drugs have been the subject of previous overviews and will not be reviewed here. Instead, we will briefly summarize the general features of the cannabinoid system and review recent findings on the structure and function of the cannabinoid system components in the immune system. For convenience, we will refer to this as the “immunocannabinoid” system.
CANNABINOID SYSTEM
Marijuana cannabinoids, analogs, and endocannabinoids”
https://jlb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1189/jlb.0303101?sid=nlm%3Apubmed
Can Marijuana Make You Thin?
“MUST-READS
The End of Obesity?
Scientists identified a “skinny gene.” Here’s how it may help you with weight loss.
Does Marijuana Make You Thin?
The munchies may not matter as much as you think, according to new research.”
http://news.menshealth.com/does-marijuana-make-you-thin/2011/09/07/
The Marijuana Diet: Study Says Pot Smokers Tend to be Skinnier (Really)
“You know the stereotype: Marijuana user = Jonah Hill-looking dude who lives on his friend’s couch.
But if you look at the daily smokers around you, and we know you have daily smokers around you, this being the pot shop capital of the nation and all, what are you looking at?
You see skinny people.
For the first time, a study seems to back up the observation that stoners are actually lithe
Research published last week in the American Journal of Epidemiology (via our friends at SF Weekly) finds that weed smokers on average are more likely to have normal weight.
Parsing data, researchers found that 22 percent of nonsmokers were overweight while only 14 percent of bud aficionados were. Those ID’d as potheads had to smoke at least three times a week under the study.
What munchies? This might explain why pot-smoking women are often, well, smoking hot.
Interesting, because one of the arguments for legalizing medical marijuana is that it can be used to boost the appetites of AIDS sufferers and cancer patients who have trouble keeping weight on.
Still a valid use? Whatever works.
But we do know that the Marijuana Diet sounds way cooler than any eating plan South Beach Miami has ever produced.”
[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/09/marijuana_skinny_fat_study.php
The future of weight loss: A ‘marijuana’ diet pill?
“Limiting a brain compound that regulates metabolism allows genetically altered mice to stay skinny without exercising. Is a dream pill far behind?
If you find the prospect of staying thin while eating as much as you want appealing, scientists have news for you. New research from the University of California, Irvine — detailed in the March issue of Cell Metabolism — found that certain brain chemicals with characteristics similar to marijuana might help the body shed pounds without any exercise. A dream come true? Here’s a brief look at the promising discovery:
What chemical could have such power?
It’s an endocannabinoid compound called 2-AG. Endocannabinoids, as the name might suggest, share a similar molecular structure to the active ingredients in cannabis. Typically, high levels of 2-AG are found in the brains of mammals, and previous studies suggested that these compounds may make the body crave fat. Scientists think endocannabinoids play a key role in regulating the body’s metabolism, or the energy it makes from food.
How did scientists put the compound to the test?
Researchers genetically engineered brain cells in mice to exhibit low levels of 2-AG, on the theory that this would allow the rodents’ metabolic rates to “go crazy,” says Kristen Philipkoski at Gizmodo. And the hunch was right. These mice lived in a “hypermetabolic state,” burning fat calories far more efficiently than normal mice, study researcher Daniele Piomeli said in a statement. They were “resistant to obesity,” staying thin despite a high-fat diet without exercise. They even had normal blood pressure, and showed no increased risk of heart disease or diabetes.
How could this discovery help humans?
“To produce the desired effects, we would need to create a drug that blocks 2-AG production in the brain,” says Piomeli, “something we’re not yet able to do.”
So can we expect a miracle pill in the foreseeable future?
“Tweaking” human brain chemistry is no easy task, says Philipkoski. And preliminary estimates say it would take a decade and cost up to $2 billion to make the drug safe and effective enough for the FDA to to approve it. “So don’t cancel that gym membership just yet,” says Piomeli.”
http://news.yahoo.com/future-weight-loss-marijuana-diet-pill-071500947.html
Study links pot smoking and weight loss – ABC News
“Researchers have found a surprising link between smoking marijuana and a lower risk of obesity.”
“Although a common side effect of cannabis is the “munchies,” the results of a French study showed about a 10 percent lower rate of obesity in people who frequently smoke marijuana compared with those who never have.
Researchers believe some components of marijuana may help people lose weight, however they emphasized that people should not smoke marijuana to lose weight.”
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=8345422
Anti-Obesity diet drug from cannabis works!
“For those whose New Year’s resolution was to yet again try to lose those extra kilos help may be at hand in the form of a new wonder drug derived from cannabis.
At first glance cannabis appears an unlikely candidate in the search for a weight-loss miracle drug, but the very same compound which switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis, could may well be the first blockbuster anti-obesity drug ever.”