Cannabidiol-based lipid nanocarriers with analgesic activity

Abstract

Pain remains a major clinical challenge due to its complex and multifactorial nature. The available treatments, such as conventional analgesics and opioids, often fail to provide adequate relief and are associated with limitations, including cardiovascular toxicity and short duration of action. This scenario reinforces the urgent need for safer and more effective therapeutic approaches. Cannabidiol (CBD) has emerged as a promising alternative in the pain management. Nanoencapsulation based on nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) offers a potential strategy to overcome these limitations. In this work, CBD oil was encapsulated in NLC (NLC/CBD; 5.0%), resulting in a formulation that remained stable for 365 days at 25 °C. In vivo tests using chicken embryos indicated no toxicity of NLC/CBD at concentrations ranging from 0.72 to 2.87 mg/mL. Furthermore, the analgesia of NLC/CBD (1.0 mg/mL) was confirmed on Drosophila melanogaster alternative biological model. These findings suggested that the herbal-based NLC loading CBD could represent a cheap, long-term stable, biocompatible and efficient nanosystem for pain management.