Cannabidiol as a potential substance for ethanol consumption disorders

Drug abuse reached considerable proportions in the last years. Studies have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) has anxiolytic, anti-psychotic, antidepressant and neuroprotective properties. There is also evidence that CBD can reduce drug-seeking behavior. Despite of the relevance, little is known about the effects of CBD treatment on ethanol (EtoH) addiction. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CBD treatment upon EtoH consumption in mice and rats using different animal models. Experiment 1: we used male C57BL/6 mice grouped in 4 groups: a) vehicle; b) CBD 1mg/Kg; c) CBD 5mg/Kg and; d) CBD 10 mg/Kg. Animals underwent 8 weeks of intermittent access to water and ethanol 20% (IA2BC). At the end of IA2BC protocol animals had no more access to ethanol bottle and received CBD during 10 consecutive days. In the last day (30 minutes after CBD treatment), animals had access to ethanol 20% and water bottles during 24 hours. Ethanol and water consumption were measured by bottle weight and corrected by each animal´s weight. Our results demonstrated that animals that received CBD (10 mg/Kg, i.p) during 10 days showed decreased EtoH consumption when compared to their consumption before CBD treatment (F(1,25)=13.26, p=0.0007). Experiment 2: we used male Wistar rats that were grouped in 4 groups: a) air + vehicle; b) air + CBD 10mg/Kg; c) ethanol vapor + vehicle and, d) vapor + CBD 10mg/Kg. Animals underwent vapor chambers and received CBD 10 mg/Kg 30 minutes before operant self-administration sessions. Our results demonstrated that CBD treatment did not decrease the number of lever presser (F(3,30)=0.96, p>0.05), reinforcements (F(3,30)=0.58, p>0.05) and ethanol consumption (F(3,30)=1.20, p>0.05). However, our results demonstrated that CBD treatment reduced ethanol seeking (F(1,41)=21.40, p<0.001). This study demonstrated that CBD at the dose of 10 mg/Kg caused decreased EtoH seeking and consumption.