Cannabis Sativa Oil Promotes Social Interaction and Ultrasonic Communication by Acting on Oxytocin Pathway.

Objective: Cannabis sativa is the most used recreational drug worldwide. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the potential therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis to treat a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions. In particular, cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive cannabis constituent, has been investigated for its potential prosocial effects on behavior, although the molecular mechanisms underlying this effect are still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a C. sativa oil CBD rich (CS oil) on social interaction and ultrasonic communication in mice. Study Design: Twenty-seven adult male mice (B6; 129P F2) were treated daily with vehicle or CS oil for 2 weeks. At Day 14, mice were tested for behavior (social interaction test and ultrasonic communication). Forty minutes before the behavioral tests, mice were exposed to intranasal treatment with vehicle or the oxytocin receptor antagonist, L-371,257. After behavioral tests, VH- and CS oil-treated mice were sacrificed, RNA was extracted from the hypothalamus and used for quantitative Real Time-PCR experiments. Results: We found that a 2-week treatment with the CS oil on mice exerted a prosocial effect associated with an increase in ultrasonic vocalizations. These effects were inhibited by pretreating mice with an oxytocin receptor antagonist. In addition, at the molecular level, we found that CS oil treatment caused a significant increase in oxytocin and a decrease in oxytocin receptor expression levels in the brain hypothalamus. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CS oil promotes social behavior by acting on oxytocin pathway.

Phytochemical Analysis and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Different Ethanolic Phyto-Extracts of Artemisia annua L.

Artemisia annua L. (AA) has shown for many centuries important therapeutic virtues associated with the presence of artemisinin (ART). The aim of this study was to identify and quantify ART and other secondary metabolites in ethanolic extracts of AA and evaluate the biological activity in the presence of an inflammatory stimulus. In this work, after the extraction of the aerial parts of AA with different concentrations of ethanol, ART was quantified by HPLC and HPLC-MS. In addition, anthocyanins, flavanols, flavanones, flavonols, lignans, low-molecular-weight phenolics, phenolic acids, stilbenes, and terpenes were identified and semi-quantitatively determined by UHPLC-QTOF-MS untargeted metabolomics. Finally, the viability of human neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) was evaluated in the presence of the different ethanolic extracts and in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results show that ART is more concentrated in AA samples extracted with 90% ethanol. Regarding the other metabolites, only the anthocyanins are more concentrated in the samples extracted with 90% ethanol. Finally, ART and all AA samples showed a protective action towards the pro-inflammatory stimulus of LPS. In particular, the anti-inflammatory effect of the leaf extract of AA with 90% ethanol was also confirmed at the molecular level since a reduction in TNF-α mRNA gene expression was observed in SH-SY5Y treated with LPS.

Biological Response of Lallemantia iberica to Brassinolide Treatment under Different Watering Conditions.

Lallemantia iberica (L. iberica) is an important dry season medicinal plant. Drought, an important abiotic stress, adversely affects the plant's metabolism, which can be alleviated by plant growth regulators like brassinolides. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2017-2018 to determine the effects of three different irrigation regimes and four brassinolide concentrations on the L. iberica biochemical properties. A split-plot based on a completely randomized block design in three replicates was used as an experimental design with the following irrigation regimes: full watering, watering until flowering and watering until branching. These were the main plots, and 0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 µM brassinolide concentrations were applied as the subplots. The results showed that many antioxidant enzymes and some biochemical parameters were affected by brassinolide treatment. Furthermore, the highest membrane stability and grain yield were produced in full watering treatment in the second year, and these treatments were not affected by brassinolide application. Several concentrations of brassinolide differently affected the studied treatments, and our study suggests that the amelioration of the effects of the drought stress on L. iberica could possibly be achieved through brassinolide-induced elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging defense systems. There is a need for complementary research to prove the effectiveness of foliar application of this growth regulator to improve the growth and yield of L. iberica under water shortage conditions.

Protective Effects of Gynostemma pentaphyllum (var. Ginpent) against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation and Motor Alteration in Mice.

Gynostemma pentaphyllum (var. Ginpent) (GP) is a variety of Cucurbit with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in patients. In this manuscript, the main components present in the dry extract of GP have been identified using Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS). In addition, the anti-inflammatory action of GP was evaluated in animal models with acute peripheral inflammation and motor alteration induced by lipopolysaccharide. The results showed that GP dry extract is rich in secondary metabolites with potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We found that the treatment with GP induced a recovery of motor function measured with the rotarod test and pole test, and a reduction in inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1ß and interleukin-6 measured with the ELISA test. The data collected in this study on the effects of GP in in vivo models may help integrate the therapeutic strategies of inflammatory-based disorders.