“Cannabis contains ≈80 different cannabinoids, including the psychoactive component Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and nonpsychoactive components, which include cannabidiol, cannabinol, and cannabigerol.
In those components, cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive constituent of cannabis, was found to be an anticonvulsant in animal models of epilepsy and in humans with epilepsy. Moreover, cannabidiol has been shown to have antispasmodic, anxiolytic, antinausea, and antirheumatoid arthritic properties. In addition, cannabidiol has been shown to be protective against global and focal ischemic injury.
Cannabidiol has been reported to be a neuroprotectant, but the neuroprotective mechanism of cannabidiol remains unclear. We studied the neuroprotective mechanism of cannabidiol in 4-hour middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion mice.
Cannabidiol significantly reduced the infarct volume induced by MCA occlusion in a bell-shaped curve. Similarly, abnormal cannabidiol but not anandamide or methanandamide reduced the infarct volume.
Cannabidiol and abnormal cannabidiol reduced the infarct volume.
These results suggested that the neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol may be related to the increase in CBF through the serotonergic 5-HT1A receptor.”