Studies in Chemistry and Biology of Non-psychotropic Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids, both plant and endogenous compounds, exert a very large spectrum of physiological actions over almost every system tested to date. Most of these actions are associated with the neural and immune systems. However cardiovascular effects are also well established. Most of the effects are caused by the activation of two receptors, CB1 and CB2. Plant-based cannabinoids are isolated from Cannabis sativa herbs or produced as synthetic cannabinoid analogues. The most important classes of natural phytocannabinoids are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinols and cannabidiols. Much work has been done on Δ9-THC, mainly due to the fact that other plant cannabinoids do not bind to the known cannabinoid receptors. In spite of their lack of psychotropic activity many of these neutral compounds exert biological activity over different systems in the body. However, the mechanism for their pharmacological action is unclear. This work represents a further step towards understanding the biological activities of non-psychotropic cannabinoids.