Single dose and chronic oral administration of cannabigerol and cannabigerolic acid‐rich hemp extract in fed and fasted dogs: Physiological effect and pharmacokinetic evaluation

Abstract

The use of cannabinoids in veterinary medicine has been increasing exponentially recently and there is little information regarding the pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids except for cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with even more sparse information related to their native acid forms found in cannabis. Cannabigerol (CBG) is the precursor molecule to cannabinoid formation in the cannabis plant which may have medicinal properties as well, yet there are no publications related to CBG or the native cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) in companion animal species. The aim of this study was to investigate similar dosing of CBG and CBGA from hemp plants that have been used for cannabidiol pharmacokinetic studies. Administration in the fed and fasted state was performed to better understand absorption and retention of these unique hemp‐derived cannabinoids in dogs. Results suggest that when providing a hemp‐derived CBG/CBGA formulation in equal quantities, CBGA is absorbed approximately 40‐fold better than CBG regardless of being given to fed or fasted dogs. After twice daily dosing for two weeks at 2 mg/kg in the fasted and then fed state, no differences in the mean serum CBG (5 ng/ml) or CBGA (250 ng/ml) serum concentrations were observed between states. Importantly, physical examination, complete blood counts, and serum chemistry evaluations over the two weeks suggest no adverse events during this short‐term dosing trial.

Twenty-Four Hour and One-Week Steady State Pharmacokinetics of Cannabinoids in Two Formulations of Cannabidiol and Cannabidiolic Acid Rich Hemp in Dogs

“…Further investigations at 2mg/kg dosing of a 50:50 mixture of CBD and CBDA showed superior absorption of a soft chew formulation compared to an oil base, and that administration with food may increase absorption of the active molecules 1,7 . Previous published studies of a similar blend of CBD/CBDA have proven safety and have shown pharmacokinetics of this specific blend as well as other blends of cannabinoids 1,2,6,8,9,10 .…”

Acute Effects of Cannabigerol on Anxiety, Stress, and Mood: A Double-Blind, Placebo- Controlled, Crossover, Field Trial

“…Orally administered CBG has been demonstrated to have a half-life of 2-6 hrs. in rodents and dogs [13,14], thus this one-week washout period would be ample to clear any residual drug effects. We used a 1:1 allocation ratio and potential carry over effects were controlled for by adding order of drug/placebo administration as a covariate in the statistical analyses.…”

A One Health perspective on comparative cannabidiol and cannabidiolic acid pharmacokinetics and biotransformation in humans and domestic animals

“…40 Thus, the presence of acidic precursor products in hemp preparations must be taken into consideration when designing dosing regimens because acidic cannabinoids appear to be absorbed better than their decarboxylated neutral counterparts globally. 8,12,[41][42][43] This examination of CBDA absorption across many domestic species is being established and has yet to be examined in the human literature to any appreciable degree. These novel findings across dogs, cats, horses, and cattle suggest that CBDA may be preferably absorbed and suggests that therapeutic dosing of CBDA may be more achievable than CBD when using the oral route.…”