Cannabidiol and (-)△_9-tetrahydrocannabinol are neuroprotective antioxidants

摘要

The neuroprotective actions of cannabidiol and other cannabinoids were examined in rat cortical neuron cultures exposed to toxic levels of the excitatory neurotrans- mitter glutamate. Glutamate toxicity was reduced by both cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive constituent of marijuana, and the psychotropic cannabinoid (-)△~9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Cannabinoids protected equally well against neuro- toxicity mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, 2-ami- no-3-(4-butyl-3-hydroxyisoxazol-5-yl)propionic acid recep- tors, or kainate receptors.