Major approaches to cannabidiol in the treatment of binge eating and obesity: a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity represents a multifactorial disease that causes serious public health problems. There are more than 2.50 billion overweight and obese people in the world, and Brazil is in fifth place in the world ranking. In this context, a factor associated with eating disorders is anxiety, which affects 33.7% of the general population. In this sense, cannabidiol (CBD) was identified 50 years ago and has effects that can change mood, sensation, perception, tension, appetite, and pain. Also, CBD showed anxiolytic, antipsychotic, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antiemetic properties. Objective: It was to analyze, through a systematic review, the main considerations and results in animal and human models of the use of cannabidiol in anxiety and obesity. Methods: The model followed for the systematic review was PRISMA. The search strategy was performed in PubMed, Embase, Ovid and Cochrane Library, Web Of Science, Science Direct Journals (Elsevier), Scopus (Elsevier), and OneFile (Gale) databases. Results: In the context of anxiety and binge eating and the consequent increase in the incidence of obese people, the activation of CB1 receptors improves feeding, modulating the activity of hypothalamic neurons and, subsequently, the release of orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptides. Thus, in obesity, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is generally down-regulated in central and peripheral tissues, as indicated by high and/or overexpression of the CB1 receptor. Therefore, CBD is beneficial for anxiety-related disorders. Thus, CBD has been shown to have anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and neuroprotective properties. Conclusion: Growing evidence indicates that CBD acts as an antipsychotic and anxiolytic, and several reports suggest neuroprotective effects. Furthermore, CBD attenuates the harmful effects of trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, both acutely and chronically, including psychotogenic, anxiogenic, and deleterious cognitive effects. This suggests that CBD may improve the disease trajectory of individuals with early psychosis and cannabis misuse in particular.