A study conducted by Jeonbuk National University Medical School and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology found that cannabidiol (CBD) enhances endurance exercise in mice by altering the gut microbiome and promoting muscle adaptation.
“Cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive compound from Cannabis, has various bioactive functions in humans and animals”, states the study, which was published by the journal Experimental & Molecular Medicine. “Evidence suggests that CBD promotes muscle injury recovery in athletes, but whether and how CBD improves endurance performance remains unclear.”
For this study, researchers “investigated the effects of CBD treatment on exercise performance in mice and assessed whether this effect involves the gut microbiome.”
It was found that “CBD administration significantly increased treadmill running performance in mice, accompanied by an increase in oxidative myofiber composition.” The improvement was linked to an increase in oxidative muscle fibers, mitochondrial biogenesis, and the expression of endurance-related genes such as PGC-1α, phosphorylated CREB, and AMPK.
The study also found that CBD altered the gut microbiome composition, with antibiotic treatment reducing its endurance-boosting effects. One specific bacterium, Bifidobacterium animalis KBP-1, was identified as being significantly increased following CBD treatment.
When administered separately, B. animalis KBP-1 also enhanced running performance in mice. Whole-genome analysis revealed that the bacterium exhibited high expression of genes associated with branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis, lactic acid metabolism, and nutrient transport.
These findings suggest that CBD and specific gut bacteria could play a role in improving endurance, providing new insights into potential exercise-enhancing interventions.
Researchers conclude:
In summary, we propose that both CBD and the gut bacteria B. animalis KBP-1, which is increased by CBD treatment, could be used in strategies to promote endurance exercise performance. Nevertheless, we recognize certain limitations of this study. First, the limited sample size reduces the generalizability and statistical power of the study. Second, although we suggest that KBP-1 enhances BCAA production, we did not measure BCAA levels in serum or muscle tissue. These limitations could be addressed in future studies with larger sample sizes, focusing on reproducibility under various conditions and further investigating the specific efficacy of KBP-1.
For the full study, click here.
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