Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid reduces nausea‐induced conditioned gaping in rats and vomiting in Suncus murinus

Summary & key facts

Researchers tested tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or THCA, in animal models to see if it reduces nausea and vomiting. In rats, THCA lowered a nausea-linked mouth-opening behavior when the rats had been made sick before. In a small shrew that can vomit, THCA cut down actual vomiting. The effect was stopped by a drug that blocks the brain's main cannabis receptor, which means that receptor is probably involved. These were animal tests, so the results do not prove the same will happen in people and the exact way THCA works still has some unanswered questions.

Key facts:

• THCA given at very low doses, about 0.05 and 0.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, reduced nausea-linked mouth-opening reactions in rats that had been made sick with lithium chloride.
• The same low doses of THCA reduced vomiting in the house musk shrew, an animal that is used to study vomiting.
• Giving a blocker of the CB1 receptor, the brain's main receptor that responds to cannabis-like compounds, stopped THCA's anti-nausea and anti-vomiting effects, which suggests that CB1 is involved.
• A low dose of regular THC at about 0.05 milligrams per kilogram did not reduce the nausea-linked mouth-opening in rats, while THCA did at that dose, suggesting THCA was more potent in these tests.
• THCA did not produce two common signs of typical cannabis-like activity in rodents: it did not make the animals colder and it did not reduce their movement, which means THCA did not show usual CB1-like behavioral effects in those tests.
• THCA was detected in blood samples after treatment, but THC was not, so the effects are unlikely to be explained by THCA turning into THC in the body under the conditions tested.
• These tests were done only in animals, so we cannot assume the same results would happen in people. The exact biological steps that make THCA work are still not fully clear because some findings point to CB1 involvement while other tests did not show typical CB1 activity.

Abstract

THCA potently reduced conditioned gaping in rats and vomiting in S. murinus, effects that were blocked by SR. These data suggest that THCA may be a more potent alternative to THC in the treatment of nausea and vomiting.

Topics

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Dietary Effects on Health Sleep and Wakefulness Research

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Pharmacology

Tags

Agonist Antagonist Biochemistry Biology Cannabinoid receptor Chemistry Context (archaeology) Endocrinology Internal medicine Inverse agonist Medicine Paleontology Pharmacology Receptor

Substances

Cannabis