Elsevier

Life Sciences

Volume 15, Issue 5, 1 September 1974, Pages 931-947
Life Sciences

Anticonvulsant properties of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids

https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(74)90009-5Get rights and content

Abstract

Anticonvulsant doses of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) markedly lower body temperature in mice at an ambient temperature of 22°C, but there is little such effect at 30°C. The anticonvulsant properties of Δ9-THC are as follows: The drug abolishes hind-limb extension in a maximal electroshock (MES) test, elevates both the MES (extensor) and 6-Hz-electroshock thresholds, exerts no effect on the 60-Hz-electroshock threshold, and enhances minimal seizures caused by pentylenetetrazol. All anticonvulsant properties studied, with the exception of the 60-Hz-electroshock threshold, were unaffected by the hypothermia resulting at 22°C. Additional experiments with Δ9-THC indicated that chronic treatment results in the development of tolerance, as determined by the MES test with rats. The four principal naturally occurring cannabinoids, Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC, cannabinol and cannabidiol, display anticonvulsant activity, as does the major, primary metabolite of Δ9-THC, 11-hydroxy-Δ9-THC. Of all agents investigated in mice, the synthetic cannabinoids, dimethylheptylpyran and its isomers, are the most potent anticonvulsants. The results of a study of the relative motor toxicity and anticonvulsant activity of the cannabinoids demonstrate that these properties are at least partially separable among the various agents.

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