Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34598738›Full record

ArticleJournal of cannabis research2021

Assessing the bioactivity of cannabis extracts in larval zebrafish.

Jessica Nixon, Hanan Abramovici, Ashley Cabecinha, Camilo Martinez-Farina, Joseph Hui, Lee Ellis

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cannabis research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Early Life Exposure to ΔCannabis and cannabinoid research · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Zebrafish as an Animal Model in Cannabinoid Research.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica NixonAquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, 1411 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3Z1, Canada.
Hanan AbramoviciOffice of Cannabis Science and Surveillance, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
Ashley CabecinhaOffice of Cannabis Science and Surveillance, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
Camilo Martinez-FarinaAquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, 1411 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3Z1, Canada.
Joseph HuiAquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, 1411 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3Z1, Canada.
Lee EllisAquatic and Crop Resource Development, National Research Council of Canada, 1411 Oxford Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 3Z1, Canada. lee.ellis@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
National Research Council Canada · CAHealth Canada · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhole-plant cannabis extracts are consumed by the public for medical and non-medical ("recreational") purposes but are poorly researched compared to pure cannabinoids. There is emerging evidence that cannabis extracts comprising complex mixtures of cannabinoids may have different biological effects from that of pure cannabinoids. In the current study, we sought to assess the effect of whole-plant cannabis extracts produced from different chemotypes of cannabis on the normal behavior of zebrafish larvae.

methodsThree cannabis plant chemotypes were used in this study that contained either high amounts of THC, high amounts of CBD, high but equal amounts of THC and CBD, or low but equal amounts of THC and CBD. Following solvent extraction, liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) was performed for the detection and quantitation of target cannabinoids. Larval zebrafish behavioral models were subsequently used to assess the effect of the four different whole-plant cannabis extracts on the normal larval behavior using the DanioVision behavioral tracking systems and software. To compare, changes in the behavior activity levels for 30 min periods were compared to controls using 2-way ANOVA with multiple comparisons followed by a Bonferroni post hoc test.

resultsIt was found that the whole-plant extracts that contained high levels of THC had similar effects on larval behavior, while the high CBD and low THC:CBD extracts produced distinct effects on normal larval behavior. Exposure of larvae to concentration-matched levels of THC and CBD found in the extracts revealed that a subset of the cannabis extracts tested had similar behavioral profiles to the pure cannabinoids while others did not.

conclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to test and compare the bioactivity of different whole-plant cannabis extracts in larval zebrafish. This work will provide a framework for future studies of distinct cannabis extracts and will be useful for comparing the bioactivity of extracts from different cannabis chemotypes as well as extracts made through various heating processes. It will also act as the first stage of assessment before testing the extracts against zebrafish models of toxicity and disease.

Indexed as

∆-9 TetrahydrocannabinolCannabidiolCannabinoidsCannabis extractsEntourage effectZebrafish

Identifiers

PMID34598738
PMCPMC8487145
OpenAlexW3203203205

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.