Cannabis sativa and/or melatonin do not alter brain lipid but alter oxidative mechanisms in female rats
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Cannabis Research
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Lipid profile and redox status play a role in brain (dys)functions. Cannabinoid and melatonergic
systems operate in the brain and contribute to brain (patho)physiology, but their roles in the modulation of brain
lipid and redox status are not well-known. We studied the effect of ethanol extract of Cannabis sativa (CS) and/or
melatonin (M) on the lipid profile and anti-oxidant system of the rat brain.
Methods: We randomly divided twenty-four (24) female Wistar rats into 4 groups (n = 6 rats each). Group 1
(control) received distilled water mixed with DMSO. Groups II–IV received CS (2 mg/kg), M (4 mg/kg), and co-
administration of CS and M (CS + M) respectively via oral gavage between 8:00 am and 10:00 am once daily for 14
days. Animals underwent 12-h fasting after the last day of treatment and sacrificed under ketamine anesthesia (20
mg/kg; i.m). The brain tissues were excised and homogenized for assay of the concentrations of the total
cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde
(MDA), and the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione
peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). One-way analysis of
variance (ANOVA) was used to compare means across groups, followed by the least significant difference (LSD)
post-hoc test.
Results: CS and/or M did not affect the lipid profile parameters. However, CS increased the G6PD (from 15.58 ±
1.09 to 21.02 ± 1.45 U/L; p = 0.047), GPx (from 10.47 ± 0.86 to 17.71 ± 1.04 U/L; p = 0.019), and SOD (from 0.81 ±
0.02 to 0.90 ± 0.01 μM; p = 0.007), but decreased NO (from 9.40 ± 0.51 to 6.75 ± 0.21 μM; p = 0.010) and had no
effect on MDA (p = 0.905), CAT (p = 0.831), GR (p = 0.639), and AChE (p = 0.571) in comparison with the control
group. M augmented the increase in G6PD (from 21.02 ± 1.45 U/L to 27.18 ± 1.81 U/L; p = 0.032) and decrease in
NO (from 6.75 ± 0.21 to 4.86 ± 0.13 μM; p = 0.034) but abolished the increase in GPx (from 17.71 ± 1.04 to 8.59 ±
2.06 U/L; p = 0.006) and SOD (from 0.90 ± 0.01 to 0.70 ± 0.00 μM; p = 0.000) elicited by CS in the rat brain in
comparison with the CS group.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Brain, Cannabis sativa, Lipid, Melatonin, Oxidative stress