DELTA-9 TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL - A POTENT INHIBITOR OF EPISODIC LUTEINIZING-HORMONE SECRETION

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 213  (2) , 306-308
Abstract
To determine if .DELTA.9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) dosages comparable to those obtainable from marihuana cigarettes suppress episodic luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion, THC was administered to ovariectomized rats in doses of 31.2-500 .mu.g/kg b.wt. [body weight] THC in doses of 62.5 .mu.g/kg b.wt. or greater rapidly suppressed episodic LH release and reduced serum LH concentrations by 42-68%. The period of suppression ranged from less than 30 min to more than 1 h and was dose-dependent. These results indicate that acute exposure to relatively low doses of THC significantly disrupts gonadotropic hormone secretion in the rat and raise the question of whether episodic LH secretion in humans might be suppressed subsequent to the use of marihuana.