Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan 5:722:134-46.
doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2013.09.068. Epub 2013 Nov 1.

Regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system

Keith A Sharkey  1 , Nissar A Darmani  2 , Linda A Parker  3
Affiliations

Regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system

Keith A Sharkey et al. Eur J Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Nausea and vomiting (emesis) are important elements in defensive or protective responses that animals use to avoid ingestion or digestion of potentially harmful substances. However, these neurally-mediated responses are at times manifested as symptoms of disease and they are frequently observed as side-effects of a variety of medications, notably those used to treat cancer. Cannabis has long been known to limit or prevent nausea and vomiting from a variety of causes. This has led to extensive investigations that have revealed an important role for cannabinoids and their receptors in the regulation of nausea and emesis. With the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, novel ways to regulate both nausea and vomiting have been discovered that involve the production of endogenous cannabinoids acting centrally. Here we review recent progress in understanding the regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system, and we discuss the potential to utilize the endocannabinoid system in the treatment of these frequently debilitating conditions.

Keywords: Brainstem; CB(1) receptor; CB(2) receptor; Cannabis; Emesis; Insular cortex; Serotonin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abrahamov A, Abrahamov A, Mechoulam R. An efficient new cannabinoid antiemetic in pediatric oncology. Life Sci. 1995;56:2097–2102. - PubMed
    1. Ahmedzai S, Carlyle DL, Calder IT, Moran F. Anti-emetic efficacy and toxicity of nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, in lung cancer chemotherapy. Br J Can. 1983;48:657–63. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alger BE, Kim J. Supply and demand for endocannabinoids. Trends Neurosci. 2011;34:304– 315. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Allen JH, de Moore GM, Heddle R, Twartz JC. Cannabinoid hyperemesis: cyclical hyperemesis in association with chronic cannabis abuse. Gut. 2004;53:1566–1570. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andrews PL, Bhandari P. The 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor antagonists as antiemetics: preclinical evaluation and mechanism of action. Eur J Cancer. 1993;29A(Suppl 1):S11–S16. - PubMed

Publication types