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Cannabis Sativa (cannabis + sativa)
Terms modified by Cannabis Sativa Selected AbstractsStudies on the metabolism of the ,9-tetrahydrocannabinol precursor ,9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (,9-THCA-A) in rat using LC-MS/MS, LC-QTOF MS and GC-MS techniquesJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 10 2009Julia Jung Abstract In Cannabis sativa, ,9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (,9-THCA-A) is the non-psychoactive precursor of ,9-tetrahydrocannabinol (,9-THC). In fresh plant material, about 90% of the total ,9-THC is available as ,9-THCA-A. When heated (smoked or baked), ,9-THCA-A is only partially converted to ,9-THC and therefore, ,9-THCA-A can be detected in serum and urine of cannabis consumers. The aim of the presented study was to identify the metabolites of ,9-THCA-A and to examine particularly whether oral intake of ,9-THCA-A leads to in vivo formation of ,9-THC in a rat model. After oral application of pure ,9-THCA-A to rats (15 mg/kg body mass), urine samples were collected and metabolites were isolated and identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and high resolution LC-MS using time of flight-mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) for accurate mass measurement. For detection of ,9-THC and its metabolites, urine extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The identified metabolites show that ,9-THCA-A undergoes a hydroxylation in position 11 to 11-hydroxy-,9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (11-OH-,9-THCA-A), which is further oxidized via the intermediate aldehyde 11-oxo-,9-THCA-A to 11-nor-9-carboxy-,9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (,9-THCA-A-COOH). Glucuronides of the parent compound and both main metabolites were identified in the rat urine as well. Furthermore, ,9-THCA-A undergoes hydroxylation in position 8 to 8-alpha- and 8-beta-hydroxy-,9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A, respectively, (8,-Hydroxy-,9-THCA-A and 8,-Hydroxy-,9-THCA-A, respectively) followed by dehydration. Both monohydroxylated metabolites were further oxidized to their bishydroxylated forms. Several glucuronidation conjugates of these metabolites were identified. In vivo conversion of ,9-THCA-A to ,9-THC was not observed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interplay Between Endocannabinoids, Steroids and Cytokines in the Control of Human ReproductionJOURNAL OF NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, Issue 2008N. Battista The use of marijuana, which today is the most used recreational drug, has been demonstrated to affect adversely reproduction. Marijuana smokers, both men and women, show impaired fertility, owing to defective signalling pathways, aberrant hormonal regulation, or wrong timing during embryo implantation. Anandamide (N -arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) mimic ,9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive principle of Cannabis sativa, by binding to both the brain-type (CB1) and the spleen-type (CB2) cannabinoid receptors. These ,endocannabinoids' exert several actions either in the central nervous system or in peripheral tissues, and are metabolised by specific enzymes that synthesise or hydrolyse them. In this review, we shall describe the elements that constitute the endocannabinod system (ECS), in order to put in a better perspective the role of this system in the control of human fertility, both in females and males. In addition, we shall discuss the interplay between ECS, sex hormones and cytokines, which generates an endocannabinoid,hormone,cytokine array critically involved in the control of human reproduction. [source] Isolation of microsatellite markers in Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana)MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 1 2003S. Gilmore Abstract We have identified 15 variable microsatellite loci in Cannabis sativa. In 48 samples from five fibre crop seed accessions, we detected an average of 10 alleles per locus (range 2,28) with mean heterozygosity of 0.68 (range 0.28,0.94). Significant genetic differentiation was found between accessions (FST = 0.12, P < 0.001). These markers have utility for characterizing genetic diversity in cultivated and naturalized Cannabis populations. [source] A critical review of the cannabinoid receptor as a drug target for obesity managementOBESITY REVIEWS, Issue 1 2009F. Akbas Summary The discovery of cannabinoids, with the well-known stimulatory effect of Cannabis sativa on appetite, has offered a new drug target for obesity treatment. Cannabinoids act on two different receptors: CB1 receptors which are sited in the brain and many peripheral tissues, and CB2 receptors which are primarily found in immune system cells. Cannabinoid receptor antagonists act centrally by blocking CB1 receptors, thereby reducing food intake. Moreover, they probably also act peripherally by increasing thermogenesis and therefore energy expenditure, as has been suggested by animal experiments. Despite these promising mechanisms of action, recent clinical studies examining the effect of the two CB1 receptor antagonists rimonabant and taranabant showed that the attained weight loss did not exceed that attained with other currently approved anti-obesity medications. Moreover, potentially severe psychiatric adverse effects limit their clinical use. As several new CB1 receptor antagonists are presently undergoing development, it remains to be elucidated to what extent they differ in terms of efficacy and safety. This review primarily discusses how close cannabinoid receptor antagonists are to the ideal anti-obesity drug, with respect to their mechanisms of action, clinical effectiveness and safety. [source] Postponed sowing does not alter the fibre/wood ratio or fibre extractability of fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa)ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009W. Westerhuis Abstract Because hemp is a short-day plant, postponing the sowing date might be a suitable strategy to obtain shorter and smaller plants around flowering, when primary fibres are ,ripe' enough to be harvested. Smaller plants can be processed on existing flax scutching and hackling lines and might have fibre characteristics that are desirable for producing high-quality ,long fibres' for yarn spinning. It was investigated whether sowing beyond the normal sowing period in the Netherlands affects the ratio in which fibres and wood are produced, and what proportion of these fibres are long fibres, suitable for long fibre spinning. About 400 stem samples were fractioned into retting losses, wood, tow, and long fibre, and the ratios between fractions were analysed using multiple linear regression analyses. A normal sowing date at the end of April was compared with a postponed sowing date at the end of May. The total fibre/wood ratio was not affected. More than 95% of the variance in total fibre was accounted for by the wood weight per stem (55.5%), the variety (+33.3%) and the stem part (+6.5%). The amount of long fibre per stem mainly depended on the amount of the total fibre per stem (95.4% variance was accounted for) and the stem part (+2.0%). For economic reasons, it could be interesting to grow two successive high-quality hemp crops in one growing season. Therefore, in an additional experiment with one variety, the effect of sowing fibre hemp up to 12 weeks later than normal on the quantity and quality of the fibres was studied. Postponing the sowing date up to 12 weeks had no important effects on retting losses, the total fibre/wood ratio, and the long fibre/total fibre ratio. It is therefore technically possible to grow two successive hemp crops. Whether this fits well in farming systems and a hemp production chain remains to be studied. [source] Sowing density and harvest time affect fibre content in hemp (Cannabis sativa) through their effects on stem weightANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2009W. Westerhuis Abstract Sowing density and harvest time are considered important crop management factors influencing fibre quantity and quality in hemp (Cannabis sativa). We investigated whether the effects of these factors are essentially different or that both factors affect stem weight and thereby total and long-fibre content. The effects of all combinations of three sowing densities and three harvest times were studied for six different stem parts. Almost 500 samples consisting of stem parts from 50 plants and with a length of 50 cm were tested. Fibres were extracted by a controlled warm-water retting procedure, followed by breaking and scutching. The initial sample weight was fractionated into retting losses, wood, tow and long fibre. In both Italy and the Netherlands, crops were successfully established with different stem densities (99,283 m,2), plant heights (146,211 cm) and stem diameters (4.5,8.4 mm) at harvest. Stem dry matter yields (6.8,11.7 Mg ha,1) increased with a delay in harvest time but were not affected by sowing density. Retting loss percentages were lower in lower stem parts and decreased with later harvest because maturation was associated with increasing amounts of fibre and wood. Within a certain stem part, however, the absolute retting losses were constant with harvest time. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the amount of fibre in a hemp stem is almost completely determined by the weight and the position of that stem part. When the plant grows, the increase in dry matter is split up into fibres and wood in a fixed way. This total fibre/wood ratio was highest in the middle part of the stem and lower towards both bottom and top. Sowing density and harvest time effects were indirect through stem weight. The long-fibre weight per stem increased with the total fibre weight and hence with stem weight. Stem weight increased with harvest time; as harvest time did not affect plant density, the highest long-fibre yields were obtained at the last harvest time. The long fibre/total fibre ratio was lowest in the bottom 5 cm of the stems but similar for all other parts. Sowing density and harvest time effects again were indirect. Fibre percentages in retted hemp decreased with increasing stem weights towards a level that is presumably a variety characteristic. The dry matter increase between harvests, however, is much more important with respect to total and long-fibre yield. [source] 5-HT1A receptors are involved in the cannabidiol-induced attenuation of behavioural and cardiovascular responses to acute restraint stress in ratsBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Leonardo B.M. Resstel Background and purpose:, Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychotomimetic compound from Cannabis sativa which induces anxiolytic- and antipsychotic-like effects in rodents. These effects could be mediated by facilitation of the endocannabinoid system or by the activation of 5-HT1A receptors. As either of these mechanisms could promote adaptation to inescapable stress, the aim of the present work was to test the hypothesis that CBD would attenuate the autonomic and behavioural consequences of restraint stress (RS). We also investigated if the responses to CBD depended on activation of 5-HT1A receptors. Experimental approach:, Male Wistar rats received i.p. injections of vehicle or CBD (1, 10 or 20 mg kg,1) and 30 min later were submitted to 60 min of restraint where their cardiovascular responses were recorded. The protocol of the second experiment was similar to the first one except that animals received i.p. injections of the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635 (0.1 mg kg,1) before CBD treatment and exposure to restraint. 24 h later they were also tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM), an animal model of anxiety. Key results:, Exposure to RS increased blood pressure and heart rate and induced an anxiogenic response in the EPM 24 h later. These effects were attenuated by CBD. WAY100635 by itself did not change the cardiovascular and anxiogenic response to RS, but blocked the effects of CBD. Conclusion and implications:, The results suggest that CBD can attenuate acute autonomic responses to stress and its delayed emotional consequences by facilitating 5-HT1A receptor-mediated neurotransmission. [source] Direct suppression of autoreactive lymphocytes in the central nervous system via the CB2 receptorBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 2 2008B N Dittel The cannabinoid system is now recognized as a regulator of both the nervous and immune systems. Although marijuana has been used for centuries for the treatment of a variety of disorders, its therapeutic mechanisms are only now being understood. The best-studied plant cannabinoid, ,9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), produced by Cannabis sativa and found in marijuana, has shown evidence of being immunosuppressive in both in vivo and in vitro. Since THC binds to at least two receptors that are differentially expressed by the immune and nervous systems, it has not been possible to clearly discriminate the biological effects it exerts in the two systems. In addition, endogenous cannabinoids have also been described that bind to both receptors and exert both neuronal and immune modulatory activity. The generation of mice deficient in specific cannabinoid receptors has facilitated studies to discriminate cannabinoid-specific functions. This review focuses on the function of the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), primarily expressed in the immune system, in regulating T cell effector functions associated with autoimmune inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS). British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 271,276; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707493; published online 8 October 2007 [source] Cannabinoid control of neuroinflammation related to multiple sclerosisBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 5 2007D Baker The cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa) has been known by many names but the question remains ,Can we call it medicine?' There has been renewed interest in the value of cannabis for the control of neuroinflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis, where it has been shown to have some effect on spasticity and pain both experimentally and in clinical trials in humans. However, in addition to symptom control potential, the question remains whether cannabinoids can modify the neuroinflammatory element which drives relapsing neurological attacks and the accumulation of progressive disability. In experimental studies it has been recently shown that synthetic cannabinoids can affect the immune response both indirectly via CB1 receptor-mediated signalling nerve centres controlling the systemic release of immunosuppressive molecules and directly by CB2 receptor-mediated inhibition of lymphocyte and macrophage/microglial cell function. However, these immunosuppressive possibilities that would limit the frequency of relapsing attacks will probably not be realized clinically, following use of medical cannabis, due to dose constraints. However, cannabinoids may still affect the glial response within the damaged central nervous system, which facilitate the slow, neurodegenerative processes that account for progressive neurodegeneration, and therefore may have utility in addition to value of cannabis-related drugs for symptom control. British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 649,654; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707458; published online 24 September 2007 [source] Artificial Neural Networks and the Study of the Psychoactivity of Cannabinoid CompoundsCHEMICAL BIOLOGY & DRUG DESIGN, Issue 6 2010Káthia M. Honório Cannabinoid compounds have widely been employed because of its medicinal and psychotropic properties. These compounds are isolated from Cannabis sativa (or marijuana) and are used in several medical treatments, such as glaucoma, nausea associated to chemotherapy, pain and many other situations. More recently, its use as appetite stimulant has been indicated in patients with cachexia or AIDS. In this work, the influence of several molecular descriptors on the psychoactivity of 50 cannabinoid compounds is analyzed aiming one obtain a model able to predict the psychoactivity of new cannabinoids. For this purpose, initially, the selection of descriptors was carried out using the Fisher's weight, the correlation matrix among the calculated variables and principal component analysis. From these analyses, the following descriptors have been considered more relevant: ELUMO (energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital), Log P (logarithm of the partition coefficient), VC4 (volume of the substituent at the C4 position) and LP1 (Lovasz,Pelikan index, a molecular branching index). To follow, two neural network models were used to construct a more adequate model for classifying new cannabinoid compounds. The first model employed was multi-layer perceptrons, with algorithm back-propagation, and the second model used was the Kohonen network. The results obtained from both networks were compared and showed that both techniques presented a high percentage of correctness to discriminate psychoactive and psychoinactive compounds. However, the Kohonen network was superior to multi-layer perceptrons. [source] | |||||||||||||