Recent advances in cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists

This review is an overview of the recent advances in cannabinoid chemistry with a special emphasis on the patent literature. The term cannabinoid incl udes analogues of the natural components of cannabis, endocannabinoids and a Nide array of chemical structures such as 1,5-diarylpyrazoles, indoles, q uinolines and arylsulphonamide derivatives capable of acting as cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists. These receptors, discovered in the earl y nineties, seem to be involved in different biochemical processes and thus represent interesting therapeutic targets for drug research.