,

Effects of Cannabidiol on Innate Immunity Experimental Evidence and Clinical Evidence

Authors

Stefano Martini, Alessandra Gemma, Marco Ferrari, Marco Cosentino and Franca Marino


Published

February 4, 2023

Abstract

Cannabidiol (CBD) is the main non-psychotropic cannabinoid derived from cannabis (Cannabis sativa L., fam. Cannabaceae). CBD has received approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome. However, CBD also has prominent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects; evidence exists that it could be beneficial in chronic inflammation, and even in acute inflammatory conditions, such as those due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this work, we review available evidence concerning CBD’s effects on the modulation of innate immunity. Despite the lack so far of clinical studies, extensive preclinical evidence in different models, including mice, rats, guinea pigs, and even ex vivo experiments on cells from human healthy subjects, shows that CBD exerts a wide range of inhibitory effects by decreasing cytokine production and tissue infiltration, and acting on a variety of other inflammation-related functions in several innate immune cells. Clinical studies are now warranted to establish the therapeutic role of CBD in diseases with a strong inflammatory component, such as multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, cancer, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases

 
 


DOI: 10.3390/ijms24043125

Citations

Martini, S., Gemma, A., Ferrari, M., Cosentino, M., & Marino, F. (2023). Effects of Cannabidiol on Innate Immunity: Experimental Evidence and Clinical Relevance. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(4), 3125.