Tag Archives: plant

Cannabis sativa as a Treatment for Obesity: From Anti-Inflammatory Indirect Support to a Promising Metabolic Re-Establishment Target

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View details for Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research cover image“Introduction: Obesity is defined as an excess of accumulation of fat that can be harmful to health. Storage of excess fat in the adipose tissue triggers an inflammatory process, which makes obesity a low-grade chronic inflammatory disease. Obesity is considered a complex and multifactorial disease; hence, no intervention strategy appears to be an ideal treatment for all individuals. Therefore, new therapeutic alternatives are often studied for the treatment of this disease. Currently, herbal medicines are gaining ground in the treatment of obesity and its comorbidities. In this context, much attention is being paid to Cannabis sativa derivatives, and their therapeutic functions are being widely studied, including in treating obesity. 

Objective: Highlight the pharmacological properties of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabidinol (THC), and cannabidiol (CBD), the predominant isolated components of Cannabis sativa, as well as its therapeutic potential in the treatment of obesity. 

Results: Evidence shows that Cannabis sativa derivatives have therapeutic potential due to their anti-inflammatory properties. In addition, people who use cannabis have a lower body mass index than those who do not, making the plant an option to reduce and reverse inflammation and comorbidities in obesity. 

Conclusion: It is concluded that phytocannabinoids derived from Cannabis sativa have therapeutic potential due to its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties, making the plant a study option to reduce and reverse inflammation and comorbidities associated with obesity.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34242511/

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2021.0016

Δ 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol promotes functional remyelination in the mouse brain

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British Journal of Pharmacology“Background and purpose: Research on demyelinating disorders aims to find novel molecules that are able to induce oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation to promote central nervous system remyelination and functional recovery.

Δ9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the most prominent active constituent of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, confers neuroprotection in animal models of demyelination. However, the possible effect of THC on myelin repair has never been studied.

Experimental approach: By using oligodendroglia-specific reporter mouse lines in combination with two models of toxin-induced demyelination, we analysed the effect of THC on the processes of oligodendrocyte regeneration and functional remyelination.

Key results: We show that THC administration enhanced oligodendrocyte regeneration, white matter remyelination and motor function recovery. THC also promoted axonal remyelination in organotypic cerebellar cultures. THC remyelinating action relied on the induction of oligodendrocyte precursor differentiation upon cell cycle exit and via CB1 cannabinoid receptor activation.

Conclusions and implications: Overall, our study identifies THC administration as a promising pharmacological strategy aimed to promote functional CNS remyelination in demyelinating disorders.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34216154/

“Our study provides a novel therapeutic advantage of THC-based interventions in multiple sclerosis by promoting remyelination and functional recovery. New clinical trials with improved designs on cannabinoids in people with multiple sclerosis are needed now, considering these compounds as potential remyelinating/disease-modifying drugs to try to overcome previous failures. Our work also suggests that at least part of the neuroprotective action of phytocannabinoids in multiple sclerosis animal models and potentially in patients as well may be due to an enhanced CNS remyelination. Finally, this study also identifies THC as a potent inductor of oligodendrocyte progenitor cell differentiation under demyelination in mice, opening the possibility for this molecule to become a candidate drug to promote oligodendrocyte regeneration and remyelination in the treatment of demyelinating disorders.”

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.15608

α-Pinene: A never-ending story

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Phytochemistry“α-Pinene represents a member of the monoterpene class and is highly distributed in higher plants like conifers, Juniper ssp. and Cannabis ssp.

α-Pinene has been used to treat respiratory tract infections for centuries. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in the fragrance and flavor industry. In vitro assays have shown an enantioselective profile of (+)- and (-)-α-pinene for antibacterial and insecticidal activity, respectively.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34365295/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031942221002065?via%3Dihub

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“α-Pinene Enhances the Anticancer Activity of Natural Killer Cells via ERK/AKT Pathway. Our findings demonstrate that α-pinene activates NK cells and increases NK cell cytotoxicity, suggesting it is a potential compound for cancer immunotherapy.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33440866/

“α-Pinene inhibits tumor invasion through downregulation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB-regulated matrix metalloproteinase-9 gene expression in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. These results suggest that α-pinene has a significant effect on the inhibition of tumor invasion and may potentially be developed into an anti-metastatic drug.”   https://applbiolchem.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s13765-016-0175-6

Cannabinoids for skin diseases and hair regrowth

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“The use of cannabis for skin diseases and hair regrowth is at the preliminary stage.

Legalization: Many countries have approved cannabis for medical use; however, four countries Canada, Uruguay, South Africa, and Georgia have legalized it for both medical and recreational purposes.

The endocannabinoid system: The endocannabinoid system may maintain skin homeostasis; two notable endocannabinoids include 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA).

Routes of administration and pharmacokinetics: Topical cannabinoids can avoid the first-pass metabolism and reduce respiratory side effects; however, the high hydrophobicity of cannabinoids may hinder percutaneous absorption.

Skin disorders and hair growth: Human clinical studies suggest that cannabinoids may be used in eczema, acne, pruritus, and systemic sclerosis treatment. Cannabidiol (CBD) may enhance hair growth via multiple mechanisms.

Safety: Topical cannabis may cause mild side effects such as pruritus, burning, erythema, and stinging; they are relatively safer than inhalation and oral cannabis. Cannabis use may be associated with allergic symptoms and reduced immune response to live vaccination.

Cannabinoids in practice: Despite growing interest, dermatologists should be cautious prescribing cannabinoids due to insufficient clinical data on both efficacy and safety.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34363728/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.14352

 

The Therapeutic Potential of Cannabis in Counteracting Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

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molecules-logo“Significant growth of interest in cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.), especially its natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties, has been observed recently. This narrative review aimed to present the state of the art of research concerning the anti-inflammatory activity of all classes of cannabinoids published in the last five years. Multimodal properties of cannabinoids include their involvement in immunological processes, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative effects. Cannabinoids and non-cannabinoid compounds of cannabis proved their anti-inflammatory effects in numerous animal models. The research in humans is missing, and the results are unconvincing. Although preclinical evidence suggests cannabinoids are of value in treating chronic inflammatory diseases, the clinical evidence is scarce, and further well-designed clinical trials are essential to determine the prospects for using cannabinoids in inflammatory conditions.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34361704/

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/15/4551

Myrcene-What Are the Potential Health Benefits of This Flavouring and Aroma Agent?

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Neuroenergetics, Nutrition and Brain Health | Authors“Myrcene (β-myrcene) is an abundant monoterpene which occurs as a major constituent in many plant species, including hops and cannabis. It is a popular flavouring and aroma agent (food additive) used in the manufacture of food and beverages. This review aims to report on the occurrence, biological and toxicological profile of β-myrcene. The main reported biological properties of β-myrcene-anxiolytic, antioxidant, anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory, analgesic properties-are discussed, with the mechanisms of activity. Here we also discuss recent data regarding the safety of β-myrcene. Overall, β-myrcene has shown promising health benefits in many animal studies. However, studies conducted in humans is lacking. In the future, there is potential for the formulation and production of non-alcoholic beers, functional foods and drinks, and cannabis extracts (low in THC) rich in β-myrcene.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34350208/

“β-Myrcene characteristically gives cannabis strains a mildly sweet flavour profile and provides scent notes that are spicy, earthy and musky. Cannabis strains which contain high concentrations of myrcene (>0.5% myrcene), are likely to induce sedative qualities (“couch-lock effect”), which are classically attributed to Cannabis indica Lam (a synonym of C. sativa L.) strains. On the other hand, strains low in β-myrcene (<0.5%) are likely to induce a more energic “high”.β-Myrcene reported biological activities include analgesic, sedative, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and anticancer effects.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.699666/full

A pilot safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic study of an oro-buccal administered cannabidiol-dominant anti-inflammatory formulation in healthy individuals: a randomized placebo-controlled single-blinded study

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SpringerLink“Background: The cannabis plant presents a complex biochemical unit of over 500 constituents of which 70 or more molecules have been classified as cannabinoids binding to cannabinoid receptors. The study aimed to investigate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary pharmacokinetics of a nanoparticle CBD formulation.

Results: The study met the primary outcomes of safety, tolerability, and preliminary pharmacokinetics of a standardized CBD-dominant anti-inflammatory extract for oro-buccal administration. Bioavailability of a 6 mg and 18 mg dose of CBD (median IQR) was 0.87 and 8.9 ng h mL-1, respectively. The maximum concentration of CBD for the low and high doses administered once per day occurred at 60 min for both concentrations. The median half-life of the 6 mg and 18 mg CBD dose was 1.23 and 5.45 h, respectively. The apparent clearance of CBD was 115 and 34 L min-1 for a 6 mg and 18 mg dose, respectively.

Conclusion: The oro-buccal nanoparticle formulation achieved plasma concentrations that were largely comparable to other commercial and investigated formulations relative to the concentrations administered. Moreover, there were no reports of adverse effects associated with unfavorable inflammatory sequalae.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34357480/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10787-021-00859-y

A Novel Mechanism of Cannabidiol in Suppressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inducing GSDME Dependent Pyroptosis

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Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology - Institut de Myologie“Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytochemical derived from Cannabis sativa L., has been demonstrated to exhibit promising anti-tumor properties in multiple cancer types. However, the effects of CBD on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unknown. We have shown that CBD effectively suppresses HCC cell growth in vivo and in vitro, and induced HCC cell pyroptosis in a caspase-3/GSDME-dependent manner. We further demonstrated that accumulation of integrative stress response (ISR) and mitochondrial stress may contribute to the initiation of pyroptotic signaling by CBD. Simultaneously, CBD can repress aerobic glycolysis through modulation of the ATF4-IGFBP1-Akt axis, due to the depletion of ATP and crucial intermediate metabolites. Collectively, these observations indicate that CBD could be considered as a potential compound for HCC therapy.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34350183/

“Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an extremely malignant cancer, accounting for almost 95% of primary liver cancer cases. Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytochemical derived from Cannabis sativa L., has been shown to have anti-tumor activity and to be a potential compound for tumor therapy. Previous studies have demonstrated that CBD treatment could effectively induce cell apoptosis in tumor cells. In this study, we have shown that CBD can effectively suppress HCC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, which was similar to the anti-tumor activity of CBD observed in other cancer types. In summary, a mechanistic model of CBD anti-tumor activity in HCC cell pyroptosis and growth was demonstrated. All the observations described herein reveal a novel mechanism of the anti-tumor activity of CBD in HCC cells, suggesting that CBD could be considered as a promising compound for HCC therapy.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.697832/full

Combination therapy with cannabidiol and chemotherapeutics in canine urothelial carcinoma cells

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“Background: Canine urothelial carcinoma is the most common form of canine bladder cancer. Treatment with chemotherapy has variable response rates leading to most dogs succumbing to their disease within a year. Cannabidiol is an emerging treatment within the field of oncology. In reported in vivo studies, cannabidiol has induced apoptosis, reduced cell migration, and acted as a chemotherapy sensitizer in various human tumor types. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of cannabidiol on canine urothelial carcinoma cell viability and apoptosis as both a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy in vitro.

Results: Cannabidiol reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in canine urothelial cells as determined by crystal violet viability assay and annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry. Furthermore, combinations of cannabidiol with mitoxantrone and vinblastine chemotherapy yielded significantly reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis compared to single agent treatment alone. The drug interactions were deemed synergistic based on combination index calculations. Conversely, the combination of cannabidiol and carboplatin did not result in decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis compared to single agent treatment. Combination index calculations suggested an antagonistic interaction between these drugs. Finally, the combination of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam with cannabidiol did not significantly affect cell viability, although, some cell lines demonstrated decreased cell viability when mitoxantrone was combined with piroxicam.

Conclusions: Cannabidiol showed promising results as a single agent or in combination with mitoxantrone and vinblastine for treatment of canine urothelial carcinoma cells. Further studies are justified to investigate whether these results are translatable in vivo.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34352013/

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid derived from the Cannabis sativa plant with well-documented analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic effects. This study determined that CBD treatment reduced viability and induced cell death in canine urothelial carcinoma cells in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest that CBD may be a potential treatment for use in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to improve canine UC carcinoma response rates and survival.”

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0255591

 

An overview on plants cannabinoids endorsed with cardiovascular effects

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Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy“Nowadays cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major causes for the reduction of the quality of life.

The endocannabinoid system is an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders due to its involvement in vasomotor control, cardiac contractility, blood pressure and vascular inflammation. Alteration in cannabinoid signalling can be often related to cardiotoxicity, circulatory shock, hypertension, and atherosclerosis.

Plants have been the major sources of medicines until modern eras in which researchers are experiencing a rediscovery of natural compounds as novel therapeutics.

One of the most versatile plant is Cannabis sativa L., containing phytocannabinoids that may play a role in the treatment of CVDs.

The aim of this review is to collect and investigate several less studied plants rich in cannabinoid-like active compounds able to interact with cannabinoid system; these plants may play a pivotal role in the treatment of disorders related to the cardiovascular system.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34332376/

“Cannabis sativa L. is the most investigated source of phytocannabinoids. Other plants are a rich source of cannabinoid-like compounds. Cannabinoid-like compounds may interact with cannabinoid system. Most of them may exhibit a protective role on cardiovascular system.” 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221007459?via%3Dihub