ABSTRACT
Over past centuries, cannabis and its major psychoactive component 9-tetrahydocannabinol (9-THC) have been extensively used for recreational use, and one of its widely effects was the onset of a ravenous appetite and eating behavior (1). Moreover, the discovery of the EC system and the cloning of the cannabinoid receptors, which are activated by the 9-THC, suggested that the EC system might have a key role in the regulation of food intake. Data from CB1 knockout mice and from pharmacological blockage of the CB1 receptor by the well-known specific antagonist rimonabant reinforced definitively the concept that CB1 receptor has a key role in the regulation of food intake (2). A recently expressed view, however, changed the scenario of the mode of action of the EC system not limited to neuronal target and shed light on the peripheral model of action of the EC system. Accordingly, endocannabinoids and CB1 receptors are present in peripheral cells and tissues controlling energy homeostasis, including the gut (3), the liver and hepatocytes (4), the white adipose tissue (5) and the adipocytes (6-10), the skeletal muscle (11), and the pancreas (9,12-14).
