1. A N A E L I S H O C K E Y L Ó P E Z
U N I V E R S I T Y O F P U E R T O R I C O
D E P A R T M E N T O F C H E M I S T R Y
B I O L 3 0 9 5
The use of Cannabis sativa as an anti-
inflammatory for Crohn’s Disease.

2. Crohn’s Disease
 What is it?
 Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
 Symptoms
 Abdominal pain
 Inflammation
 Immune system
 Vomiting
 Diarrhea
 Loss of appetite/weight loss
 Rectal pain/rectal bleeding

3. Crohn’s Disease
 Reasons
 Treatments
 Anti-inflammatory agents
 Topical Antibiotics
 Immune-modulators
 No medical cure. (Schoenfeld & Wu. 2010)

4. Cannabis sativa
 What is it?
 Composition
 Cannabinoids
 Direct involvement with the anti-inflammatory effect (Burstein,
Zurier. 2009)
 Cannabidiol
 Cannabinoid receptors
 CB1 and CB2 (Pertwee. 2008)
 CB1 = brain
 CB2 = immune system

5.  THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol)
 Mediated by the CB1 receptor (Cooper, Haney. 2009)
 How does THC affect the brain?
 Neurotransmiters
 Specific effects on each part of the brain

7. Cannabis sativa
 Other sicknesses
 Multiple sclerosis
 ADHD
 AIDS
 Glaucoma
 Insomnia
 Asthma
 Migraines

8. Cannabis on IBD
 Recent treatment
 Studies
 Mice
 Inflammation
 Croton oil
 Dinitrobenzene acid
 Results:
 Cannabidiol is active when there is an inflammatory stimulus.
(Capasso, et al. 2008)
 Cannabidiol reduces colon injury. (Borrelli, et al. 2009)

9. Cannabis on IBD
 Humans
 Surveys
 Results
 Relieved abdominal pain, diarrhea and reduced appetite. (Lal,
et al. 2011)
• Endocannabinoids
 Protection of the gut against inflammation. (Sabatino, et al. 2011)
 Reduced symptoms
• Amount of drugs and surgeries needed were reduced. (Naftali, et al.
2011)

10. Legalization Issues
 Countries
 Synthetic cannabis
 Structure
 State
 Health effects
 Unknown according to the Drug Foundation.

11. Conclusion
 Crohn’s Disease
 IBD
 Cannabis sativa
 Cannabinoids
 Cannabidiol
 Cannabinoid receptors
 The brain and immune system
 Reduced symptoms

12. References
 1. Borrelli F, Aviello G, Romano B, Orlando P, Capasso R, Maiello F, Guadagno F,
Petrosino S, Capasso F, Di Marzo V, Izzo A. 2009. Cannabidiol, a safe and non-
psychotropic ingredient of the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa, is protective in a
murine model of colitis. J Mol Med 87:1111–1121. Doi :10.1007/s00109-009-0512-x
 2. Burstein S, Zurier R. 2009. Cannabinoids, Endocannabinoids, and Related
Analogs in Inflammation. [Internet] [Cited 2012 Nov 24] AAPS J.11(1): 109–119.
doi: 10.1208/s12248-009-9084-5 Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664885/
 3. Capasso R, Borrelli F, Aviello G, Romano B, Scalisi C, Capasso F, Izzo AA. 2008.
Cannabidiol, extracted from cannabis sativa, selectively inhibits inflammatory
hypermotility in mice. Br J Pharmacol 154(5):1001-8.
 4. Cooper Z, Haney M. 2009. Actions of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in cannabis.
Int Rev Psychiatry. [Internet] [Cited 2012 Nov 24] 21(2): 104–112. doi:
10.1080/09540260902782752 Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2731700/

13. References
 5. Di Sabatino A, Battista N, Biancheri P, Rapino C, Rovedatti L, Astarita G, Vanoli A, Dainese
E, Guerci M, Piomelli D, Pender S, Pender L, Pender F, MacDonald T, MacDonald T,
Maccarrone M, Corazza G, Corazza R. 2011. Mucosal Immunology 4: 574–583;
doi:10.1038/mi.2011.18 Available from:
http://www.nature.com/mi/journal/v4/n5/full/mi201118a.html
 6. Lal S, Prasad N, Ryan M, Tangri S, Silverberg M, Gordon A, Steinhart H. 2011. Cannabis use
amongst patients with inflammatory bowel disease. European Journal of Gastroenterology &
Hepatology 23(10):891-896
 7. Naftali T, Bar Lev L, Yableknovitz D, Half E and Konikoff F. 2011. Treatment of Crohn’s
Disease with Cannabis: An Observational Study. [Internet]. [Cited 2012 Nov 24] 13:455-457
Available from: http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/Crohns-ar11aug-01.pdf
 8. Pertwee RG. 2008. Ligands that target cannabinoid receptors in the brain: from THC to
anandamide and beyond. Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen, UK. 13(2):147-59.
 9. Schoenfeld A, Wu G. 2010. Crohn’s Disease. [Internet] [Cited 2012 Nov 24] Available from:
http://www.medicinenet.com/crohns_disease/article.htm
 10. Synthetic cannabinoids. Available from: http://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/synthetic-
cannabinoids

14. Questions?