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Pharmacological Properties of Plant-Derived Natural Products and Implications for Human Health pp 249–255Cite as

Pharmacological Properties of the Plant-Derived Natural products Cannabinoids and Implications for Cardiovascular Health

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1308))

Abstract

The global march towards legalization of marijuana consumption is pursued in reason of the supposed harmless properties of this plant. Actually, a wide range of cannabinoids is endogenously produced and interacts with different classes of receptors ubiquitously distributed in the human body. Such endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulates several functions in health and disease. However, studies on synthetic ligands with selective agonist/antagonist activity on specific cannabinoid receptors, have clarified how complex the cannabinoid system is. The whole biological activity of cannabis sativa remains difficult to establish, due to the fact that it is a complex mixture of phytocannabinoids with different or even opposing effects. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the most represented phytocannabinoid in the marijuana plant and then the most studied compound. It has been widely associated with adverse CV effects in marijuana smokers. Conversely, less is known about the role of other phytocannabinoids. Here, we summarized the current knowledge about the effects of phytocannabinoids in CV disease, mainly focusing on atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. We critically discussed clinical and experimental evidence linking phytocannabinoids to CV disease, attempting at explaining some controversies and suggesting the direction for future studies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zürich, Schlieren, Switzerland

    Luca Liberale

  2. First Clinic of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Luca Liberale & Federico Carbone

  3. First Clinic of Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine and Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Research (CEBR), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Fabrizio Montecucco

  4. IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino Genova – Italian Cardiovascular Network, Genoa, Italy

    Fabrizio Montecucco & Federico Carbone

Authors
  1. Luca Liberale
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  2. Fabrizio Montecucco
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  3. Federico Carbone
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Correspondence to Fabrizio Montecucco .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    George E. Barreto

  2. Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

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Liberale, L., Montecucco, F., Carbone, F. (2021). Pharmacological Properties of the Plant-Derived Natural products Cannabinoids and Implications for Cardiovascular Health. In: Barreto, G.E., Sahebkar, A. (eds) Pharmacological Properties of Plant-Derived Natural Products and Implications for Human Health. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1308. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64872-5_17

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