Human Metabolites of Cannabidiol: A Review on Their Formation, Biological Activity, and Relevance in Therapy

Authors

István Ujváry and Lumír Hanuš


Published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

March 2016

Abstract

Cannabidiol (CBD), the main nonpsychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa, has shown a wide range of therapeutically promising pharmacological effects either as a sole drug or in combination with other drugs in adjunctive therapy. However, the targets involved in the therapeutic effects of CBD appear to be elusive. Furthermore, scarce information is available on the biological activity of its human metabolites which, when formed in pharmacologically relevant concentration, might contribute to or even account for the observed therapeutic effects. The present overview summarizes our current knowledge on the pharmacokinetics and metabolic fate of CBD in humans, reviews studies on the biological activity of CBD metabolites either in vitro or in vivo, and discusses relevant drug–drug interactions. To facilitate further research in the area, the reported syntheses of CBD metabolites are also catalogued.

Open Access

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2015.0012

Citation:

Ujváry, I., & Hanuš, L. (2016). Human metabolites of cannabidiol: a review on their formation, biological activity, and relevance in therapy. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 1(1), 90-101.