Abstract
Cannabis is widely used as a therapeutic drug, especially by patients suffering from psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the complex interplay between phytocannabinoids and their targets in the human receptome remains largely a mystery, and there have been few investigations into the relationship between the chemical composition of medical cannabis and the corresponding biological activity. In this study, we investigated 59 cannabis samples used by patients for medical reasons. The samples were subjected to extraction (microwave and supercritical carbon dioxide) and chemical analyses, and the resulting extracts were assayed in vitro using the CB1 and CB2 receptors. Using a partial least squares regression analysis, the chemical compositions of the extracts were then correlated to their corresponding cannabinoid receptor activities, thus generating predictive models that describe the receptor potency as a function of major phytocannabinoid content. Using the current dataset, meaningful models for CB1 and CB2 receptor agonism were obtained, and these reveal the insignificant relationships between the major phytocannabinoid content and receptor affinity for CB1 but good correlations between the two at CB2 receptors. These results also explain the anomalies between the receptor activities of pure phytocannabinoids and cannabis extracts. Furthermore, the models for CB1 and CB2 agonism in cannabis extracts predict the cannabinoid receptor activities of individual phytocannabinoids with reasonable accuracy. Here for the first time, we disclose a method to predict the relationship between the chemical composition, including phytocannabinoids, of cannabis extracts and cannabinoid receptor responses.
Highlights
In recent years, cannabis has arguably become one of the most popular natural products across the globe
Samples extracted using microwave assisted extraction (MAE) primarily contained decarboxylated phytocannabinoids, i.e., CBD and ∆9 -THC, which was expected because of the high temperature produced using this extraction procedure, whereas samples obtained via supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) contained higher proportions of CBDA and ∆9 -THCA
A first-of-its-kind quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR)-like quantitative analysis was performed on 59 samples of cannabis extracts and cannabis oils to elucidate the relationships between the concentrations of phytocannabinoids in the cannabis extracts and the corresponding biological activities at the CB1 and
Summary
Cannabis has arguably become one of the most popular natural products across the globe. A member of the herbaceous Cannabaceae family of plants, produces more than unique compounds, of which more than 100 belong to the unique class of phytocannabinoids [1,2]. Molecules 2020, 25, 3466; doi:10.3390/molecules25153466 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules Molecules FOR PEER REVIEW. 25, x3466 of of 16 than 568 unique compounds, of which more than 100 belong to the unique class of phytocannabinoids. Phytocannabinoids such [1,2]. Are organic molecules witha apolyphenolic polyphenolic structure.
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