The research of the postconditioning effect of cannabidiol on ischemia/reperfusion-induced ventriculer arrhythmias

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive plant cannabinoid. In clinical practice, it has been used in the treatment of huntington's disease and multiple sclerosis. İn our previous study CBD given before the ligation has been reported to be protective against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced arrhythmia in rats. However, It should also be demonstrated that drugs and agents are effective against ventricular arrhythmias during ischemia or reperfusion in order to be adapted to the clinical treatment of reperfusion arrhythmias. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of CBD applied by infusion during both ischemia and reperfusion periods on reperfusion-induced arrhythmias in rats. Myocardial ischemia and reperfusion were accomplished by ligation of the left main coronary artery for 6 min and release of the tie on the vessel for 6 min in male anesthetized rats, respectively. CBD was administered by infusion pump at a dose of 9 μg/90μL/min/kg during the ligation and reperfusion, respectively. Experimental groups of the study were: (1) Control (n=6), (2) Ligation CBD (n=6), and (3) Reperfusion CBD (n=6). Arrhythmia durations, heart rate and blood pressure values were determined for each rats. One-way analysis of variance and Dunnet post-hoc test were used in the analysis of the data. The data were given as mean ± standard error. CBD treatment during the ligation significantly decreased the duration of ventricular premature contraction (VPC) compared to the control group (P <0.05). CBD that was given during the reperfusion period significantly decreased the VPC, ventricular tachycardia (VT) and total length of arrhythmias compared to the control group (total length of arrhythmias: control: 39 ± 10 sec, CBD-Lig: 14 ± 7 sec, CBD-Rep: 8 ± 4 sec, P < 0.05). The results of the study indicate that CBD given during the reperfusion period has a strong antiarrhythmic effect on I/R-induced arrhythmia. These results strengthen the potential use of CBD in the clinical treatment of reperfusion arrhythmias.