(P30-021-23) Comparative Study on the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Cannabidiol and Cannabidivarin in a Peritonitis Mouse Model

Objectives: Cannabis (including hemp)-based ingredients are of great interest to the dietary industry and consumers. Cannabis spp. contains a variety of bioactive phytocannabinoids including cannabidiol (CBD), which is a major non-psychedelic cannabinoid, and cannabidivarin (CBDV), a minor cannabinoid with a skeleton of CBD but with a sidechain shortened by two methylene groups. Numerous published studies using in vitro assays and animal models support that CBD may exert various biological effects including anti-inflammatory activity. Despite the similarity in the chemical structures between CBD and CBDV, only a paucity of studies showed that CBDV can also mitigate inflammatory stress in cell-based assays. Therefore, the understanding of CBDV’s anti-inflammatory effects, especially in the context of comparing it with CBD, is limited. Herein, we conducted a comparative study to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD and CBDV in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced peritonitis mouse model.

Methods: Treatments with CBD and CBDV (both at 50 mg/kg b.w.) were given to mice by oral administration for ten days and then mice were challenged with LPS (1 mg/kg; via intraperitoneal injection) on day ten. Then peritoneal fluid, serum, and major organs were collected for the measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-ɑ, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6. LPS (1 mg/kg) challenge significantly increased the expression of TNF-ɑ, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the peritoneal fluid, serum, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen.

Results: CBD treatment significantly reduced TNF-ɑ in the liver by 6.751 pg/mL and IL-1β in the peritoneal fluid by 89.25 pg/mL. CBDV also significantly lowered IL-1β expression by 78.15 pg/mL.

Conclusions: To date, this is the first study to compare the capacity of suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines between CBD and CBDV in a peritonitis mouse model, which provides insights into the impact of the length of CBD’s sidechain on the anti-inflammatory effects. The findings from this study are useful for the potential development of cannabinoid-containing ingredients for nutraceutical applications.

Funding Sources: None