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Teratologic Effects of Cannabis Extracts in Rabbits: A Preliminary Study

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Marihuana

Abstract

During the past decade, several research groups have investigated the teratogenic effects of marihuana extracts in animals. Miras [14] reported that rats that had consumed food containing cannabis extract at a concentration of 0.2 percent for several months had diarrhea and a reduced growth rate. He further stated that these animals, upon being bred, showed a significant reduction in fertility. However, their offspring appeared normal in all aspects through the first 90 days. Persaud and Ellington [19] reported that C. sativa resin 4.2 mg/kg body weight produced teratogenic effects in rats when administered in days 1 to 6 of gestation. They observed a high incidence of malformed fetuses, increase of fetal resorption, decrease of fetal weight and size, and a high incidence of abnormalities: syndactyly, encephalocele, phocomelia, amelia, and abdominal viscera eventration. Gerber and Schramm [3] administered doses of cannabis extracts of 250 or 500 mg/kg to guinea pigs and rabbits, and they also reported various congenital malformations. Pace, Davis, and Borgen [18] studied the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) on rats and guinea pigs injected subcutaneously with 0.1–100 mg/kg. They found no teratogenic effects due to THC in the rats or guinea pigs.

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References

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Authors
  1. Etienne Fournier
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  2. Edy Rosenberg
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  3. Noah Hardy
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  4. Gabriel Nahas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, 630 West 168th Street, 10032, New York, New York, USA

    Gabriel G. Nahas M.D., Ph.D. (Research Professor of Anesthesiology) (Research Professor of Anesthesiology)

  2. University of Oxford, Oxford, England

    William D. M. Paton M.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Pharmacology) (Professor of Pharmacology)

  3. National Board of Health, Helsinki, 53, Finland

    Juhana E. Idänpään-Heikkilä M.D., D.M.Sc. (Docent, Chief Medical Officer for Pharmacology) (Docent, Chief Medical Officer for Pharmacology)

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© 1976 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Fournier, E., Rosenberg, E., Hardy, N., Nahas, G. (1976). Teratologic Effects of Cannabis Extracts in Rabbits: A Preliminary Study. In: Nahas, G.G., Paton, W.D.M., Idänpään-Heikkilä, J.E. (eds) Marihuana. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51624-5_37

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51624-5_37

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-51626-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-51624-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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