A. Calignano et al., INHIBITION OF INTESTINAL MOTILITY BY ANANDAMIDE, AN ENDOGENOUS CANNABINOID, European journal of pharmacology, 340(2-3), 1997, pp. 7-8
The endogenous cannabinoid ligand anandamide (arachidonylethanolamide)
inhibited the intestinal passage of a charcoal meal when administered
s.c. in mice at doses ranging from 0.1 to 50 mg/kg. This effect was p
revented by the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A dichloro
phenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide . HCl] (1 mg/kg s.c.), but
it was not affected by the anandamide transport inhibitor, N-(4-hydrox
yphenyl) arachidonylethanolamide (AM404) (50 mg/kg, s.c.). The results
indicate that anandamide modulates intestinal motility in mice by act
ivating cannabinoid CB1 receptors. They also suggest that anandamide t
ransport, which was previously shown to participate in terminating neu
ral and vascular responses to anandamide, does not contribute to anand
amide inactivation in intestinal tissue. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V
.