Cannabidiol: A potential new alternative for the treatment of anxiety, depression, and psychotic disorders

With interest in the potential therapeutic use of some Cannabis sativa plant compounds rising, García-Gutiérrez et al. (2020) focus on one of the main phytocannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) since it has no potential for becoming a drug of abuse (unlike THC). This review presents a variety of animal and human studies to portray the anxiolytic, antidepressant, and antipsychotic effects of CBD. For example, preliminary clinical trials back up CBD’s efficacy as an anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and antidepressant. More importantly, these trials demonstrate the positive benefit-risk in favor of using CBDs. The results from the rodent studies suggest that CBD’s impact depends on the dose, the strain, the administration time course (acute vs. chronic), and the route of administration. Moreover, the pharmacological activity of CBDs have been associated with cannabinoid receptors, the 5-HT1A receptor, and neurogenesis factors. Overall, these results are promising and encourage further research (on a large scale) to analyze CBD as a potential new drug for the treatment of these psychiatric disorders. [NPIDs: herbs, cannabis, sativa, phytocannabinoids, CBD, animal, depression, psychosis]

Year: 2020

Reference: García-Gutiérrez, M. S., Navarrete, F., Gasparyan, A., Austrich-Olivares, A., Sala, F., & Manzanares, J. (2020). Cannabidiol: A Potential New Alternative for the Treatment of Anxiety, Depression, and Psychotic Disorders. Biomolecules, 10(11), 1575. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10111575