Di Marzo Vincenzo, Bisogno Tiziana, De Petrocellis Luciano
Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli (NA), Italy.
Chem Biol. 2007 Jul;14(7):741-56. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2007.05.014.
Cannabis sativa has been known, used, and misused by mankind for centuries, and yet only over the last two decades has research stemming from the chemical constituents specific to this plant, the cannabinoids, started to provide fundamental insights into animal physiology and pathology, resulting in the development of new therapeutics. The discovery of the endocannabinoid system, and its targeting with two new pharmaceutical preparations now on the market in several countries, represent the most recent example of how studies on medicinal plants and on the mechanism of their biological effects can reveal, through a chain of breakthroughs, new systems of endogenous signals and physiological phenomena that can become the source of novel strategies for unmet therapeutic challenges.
几个世纪以来，人类一直知晓、使用并滥用大麻，但直到过去二十年，源于该植物特定化学成分（大麻素）的研究才开始为动物生理学和病理学提供基本见解，从而推动了新疗法的开发。内源性大麻素系统的发现，以及目前在多个国家上市的两种新型药物制剂对其的靶向作用，代表了一个最新的例子，即对药用植物及其生物效应机制的研究如何通过一系列突破揭示新的内源性信号系统和生理现象，而这些系统和现象可能成为应对未满足治疗挑战的新策略的来源。
