Effect of Aqueous Extract of Cannabis sativa Leaf on the Oxidative Stress Markers in the Brain of Male Wistar Rats

Cannabis sativa is a commonly abused drug especially among younger people in society. The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain, immediately inferior to the occipital and temporal lobes within the posterior cranial fossa. The study was designed to show the effect of aqueous leave extract of Cannabis sativa on the performance of male Wistar rats in the hanging wire and open field neurobehavioural tests. A total of 40 Wistar rats were used and grouped into five groups. Group A received distilled water for 28 days. Group B, C, D and E served as the low, high, low dose recovery and high dose recovery group respectively. Group B were administered with 10mg/kg body weight of Cannabis sativa leave aqueous extract for 28 days. Group C were administered with 20mg/kg body weight of Cannabis sativa leave aqueous extract for 28 days. Group D was administered with 10mg/kg body weight of Cannabis sativa leave aqueous extract for 28days and were allowed for further 28 days without any administration while group E received 20mg/kg body weight of Cannabis sativa for 28 days and were allowed for further 28days without administration. Groups D and E represent the recovery groups. Group A, B and C were sacrificed a day after their last intubation. The result of the study showed that administration of Cannabis sativa led to a non-significant increase in MDA and a corresponding significant reduction in SOD and CAT levels in the experimental groups compared to the control group A. This is a pointer to the presence oxidative stress. It can therefore be concluded that there were dose and time dependent toxic effects of Cannabis sativa in the model animals.