Skip to main content

Or 34,00 After 66% tax deduction

I make a monthly donation I make an IFI donation
Research, science & health

Anti-inflammatory effect of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis

Published on: 02/12/2019 Reading time: 1 min
formule cbd

A study conducted at Institut du Cerveau - ICM by Mauricio dos-Santos-Pereira and Patrick Michel together with a partner team in Brazil, identifies a key mechanism by which cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, exerts anti-inflammatory effects. Results are published in the journal Glia.

Anti-inflammatory effect of cannabidiol

Anti-inflammatory effect of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis

CBD is known to exert suppressive effects on immune cells in various inflammatory states. To better understand the nature of this effect, Mauricio dos-Santos-Pereira and Patrick Michel used a culture model of microglial cells, the tissue-resident macrophages of the brain and an activation paradigm of these cells by a bacterial inflammogen.

The researchers were able to confirm that CBD is highly effective in reducing microglial inflammatory responses.

Contrarily to our expectation, the effect of CBD was mostly independent of cannabinoid receptors. In fact, we found that the suppressive action of CBD toward microglia resulted from an intrinsic antioxidant effect, which is self-reinforced by the capacity of this compound to limit glucose consumption, specifically in these cells.

Patrick Michel Last author of the study

Actually, when accumulated in excess by microglial cells, glucose serves to regenerate NADPH, a substrate for an enzyme that controls oxidative stress and, ultimately, the synthesis/release of pro-inflammatory mediators by these cells. Overall, current data suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of CBD results from a dual inhibitory effect on oxidative stress and glucose metabolism.

Sources

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31647138/
Dos-Santos-Pereira M, Guimarães FS, Del-Bel E, Raisman-Vozari R, Michel PP. Glia. 2019 Oct 24

Our news on the subject

Le cortex moteur
Origin of Lance-Adams Syndrome Finally Elucidated
First described 60 years ago, chronic myoclonus following cerebral anoxia is now known as Lance-Adams syndrome. This is a severe disorder whose mechanisms were, until now, poorly understood. Geoffroy Vellieux, Vincent Navarro, and their colleagues at...
06.16.2025 Research, science & health
Tiré de New Theory of Colours de Mary Gartside, 1808
Aphantasia Might Be Linked to Alterations in Brain Connectivity
Thanks to 7T fMRI, researchers from Paris Brain Institute and NeuroSpin, the CEA's neuroimaging centre, are exploring the neural substrate of visual imagery at very high resolution for the first time. Their results, publiés [i] in Cortex, pave the...
06.06.2025 Research, science & health
Le développement du cerveau a une part d’aléatoire
The stochastic aspect of brain development
Although every person’s personality is the result of genetic and environmental factors, these are not the only factors at play. Bassem Hassan and his team at Paris Brain Institute have discovered that, in fruit flies (drosophila), individuality also...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Analyse MERSCOPE
New treatment pathways for brain malformation-linked focal epilepsy?
A study by Stéphanie Baulac’s team has revealed somatic mutations in different cell types in patients with type 2 focal cortical dysplasia. This disease causes drug-resistant epileptic seizures, for which the main treatment option is currently...
05.12.2025 Research, science & health
Un iceberg
The ICEBERG cohort, 10 years of collective scientific and medical mobilization
The ICEBERG cohort, initiated 10 years ago, is interested in studying factors predictive of the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease.
05.15.2025 Research, science & health
La huntingtine est une protéine indispensable au développement embryonnaire, à la formation et au maintien du tissu cérébral.
Huntington's Disease: The Energy Hypothesis Gets Traction
Huntington's disease, a rare hereditary neurological disorder, is associated with an energy deficit that precedes the onset of symptoms and is closely linked to their progression. At Paris Brain Institute, Fanny Mochel and her colleagues are testing...
02.11.2025 Research, science & health
See all our news