In the present study, the phenolic (Folin-Dennis) and flavonoid (colorimetric assay) constituents, antioxidant [2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) assay] and cytotoxic activities of an aqueous extract (AE) of Centella asiatica leaves were investigated. The aqueous extract (50 g/L) was obtained by infusion followed by cold maceration for 24 h. The levels of phenolic and flavonoid compo...

The present study was carried out to examine whether acute experimental myocardial infarction affects the sympathetic transmission to vessels and the heart of pithed rats via a presynaptic mechanism and, if so, to check whether inhibitory presynaptic cannabinoid (CB) receptors and endocannabinoids are involved in this response. In pithed and vagotomized rats, electrical stimulation (0.75 Hz; 1 ...

The 'cannabinoid hypothesis' of schizophrenia tulates that over-activity of the endocannabinoid system might contribute to the aetiology of schizophrenia. In keeping with this hypothesis, increased expression of CB1 receptors, elevation of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) and cannabinoid-induced cognitive changes have been reported in animal models of schizophrenia and psychotic patients. I...

Although cannabinoids are efficacious in laboratory animal models of inflammatory pain, their established cannabimimetic actions diminish enthusiasm for their therapeutic development. Conversely, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the chief catabolic enzyme regulating the endogenous cannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide), has emerged as an attractive target for treating pain and ot...

Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitors exert preclinical effects indicative of therapeutic potential (i.e., analgesia). However, the extent to which MAGL and FAAH inhibitors produce unwanted effects remains unclear. Here, FAAH and MAGL inhibition was examined separately and together in a Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC; 5.6 mg/kg i.p.) discrimination...

The endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) induces cell death in many cell types, but determinants of AEA-induced cell death remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of the AEA-degrading enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) in AEA-induced cell death in the liver. Primary hepatocytes expressed high levels of FAAH and were completely resistant to AEA-induced cell death, whereas prima...

*Corresponding author (email: ) Imperial College London Wellcome Trust Centre for Clinical Tropical Medicine (LC) and Laboratorio de Investigación de Enfermedades Infecciosas (DAJM), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado No 430, Urb. Ingeniería, Perú Received : 09-11-06 Accepted : 21-11-06 The urgent need for improved diagnostic tools for detection of t...