Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes cognitive decline and memory loss. One of the causes of the disease is the cholinergic theory and is characterized by a decrease in the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). The thera...
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes cognitive decline and memory loss. One of the causes of the disease is the cholinergic theory and is characterized by a decrease in the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). The therapeutic strategy of the cholinergic theory is inhibition of cholinesterase (ChE) activity and reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Recently, combination therapy of inhibition of ChE activity and neuroprotection has emerged as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD. Hemp has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties and has been used for neurological disorders. One of the active constituents of hemp is cannabinoids, and there are a variety of cannabinoids. Representative cannabinoids are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which have effects in neurological diseases.
In this study, to evaluate the therapeutic potential of cannabinoid derivatives for AD, 21 cannabinoid derivatives were synthesized and their ChE inhibitory effect and neuroprotective activity were measured. The inhibitory effect of the various derivatives on ChE was determined by calculating the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), and the neuroprotective effect was measured by the restoration of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and inhibition of ROS production in SH-SY5Y cells. . Most of the derivatives showed a dose-dependent decrease in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity at IC50 values below 5 μM, whereas only 5 compounds showed an inhibitory effect on butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity. Abnormal cannabidiol (Abn-CBD, 1b), abnormal cannabivarin (Abn-CBDV, 1d), cannabigerol (CBG, 4a) and cannabivarin (CBNV, 5b) have inhibitory effects on both AChE and BuChE. there was. 1b showed the ability to recover SOD activity. Six derivatives were shown to inhibit ROS production below control levels.
Through the above experimental results, it was confirmed that cannabinoid derivatives, which are one of the active substances of hemp, exhibit cholinesterase inhibition and neuroprotective effects. Among the 21 cannabinoid derivatives synthesized, 4 substances exhibiting cholinesterase inhibitory effects and 6 derivatives exhibiting neuroprotective effects were identified. Among the 21 derivatives synthesized, Abn-CBD (1b) was shown to inhibit cholinesterase and have neuroprotective effects. Therefore, among cannabinoid derivatives, Abn-CBD is expected to be used for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.