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Oromucosal as an Alternative Method for Administration of Cannabis Products in Rodents
Published on: August 22, 2025
Cannabinoids enhance gastric X/A-like cells activity
Robert Lukasz Zbucki1, Bogusław Sawicki, Anna Hryniewicz
1Department of General and Experimental Pathology, Medical University of Bialystok, Poland.
Folia Histochemica Et Cytobiologica
|June 4, 2008
Summary
Cannabinoids may increase appetite by stimulating ghrelin secretion from stomach cells. This study found that administering cannabinoids led to reduced ghrelin in gastric tissue but increased ghrelin levels in the blood.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Cannabinoids are known to influence appetite, potentially causing overeating in humans and animals.
- Endogenous cannabinoids and their CB1 receptors are present in the hypothalamus and gastrointestinal tract, but their role in appetite regulation is not fully understood.
- Ghrelin, a stomach-secreted hormone, is recognized as a potent appetite stimulant.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of cannabinoid administration on ghrelin plasma concentration and gastric ghrelin immunoreactivity in male Wistar rats.
- To explore the potential mechanism linking cannabinoid-induced appetite stimulation to ghrelin secretion.
Main Methods:
- Rats received single intraperitoneal injections of R-(+)-methanandamide or CP 55,940 (cannabinoid receptor agonists) or a vehicle.
- Plasma ghrelin concentrations were measured using radioimmunoassay (RIA) four hours post-injection.
- Ghrelin immunoreactivity in gastric mucosa was assessed using immunohistochemistry and image analysis.
Main Results:
- Administration of both R-(+)-methanandamide and CP 55,940 resulted in a significant increase in plasma ghrelin concentration.
- A concurrent attenuation of ghrelin immunoreactivity was observed in the gastric mucosa of treated rats.
- These findings suggest a dynamic interplay between gastric ghrelin storage and secretion following cannabinoid exposure.
Conclusions:
- Cannabinoid-induced appetite stimulation may be mediated by an increase in ghrelin secretion from gastric X/A-like cells.
- The study provides evidence for a link between cannabinoid action and the ghrelin system in appetite regulation.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the precise molecular pathways involved.
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