Study: CBD Nanoemulsion Shows Antitumor Potential in Canine Mammary Cancer Cells

The formulation, known as CBD-Nem, was created to overcome CBD’s poor solubility in water, which normally requires solvents like ethanol or dimethylsulfoxide that can restrict safe dosing. By incorporating CBD into nanoemulsions using Miglyol 812 oil and Epikuron 145 V as a surfactant, the researchers achieved a stable and dispersible compound with nanometric size, spherical shape, and a strong negative charge for stability. The researchers presented their findings in a recent study published in the journal Pharmaceutics.

In laboratory testing, CBD-Nem delivered CBD slowly and consistently under both acidic and neutral conditions. Cancer cells readily absorbed the formulation, and at 50 µM it significantly reduced their viability while being less toxic to non-cancerous cells. Over a 20-day period, the nanoemulsion effectively prevented colony formation, induced apoptosis, reduced the proportion of cells in the G2-M phase of the cycle, and limited the migration and invasion of cancer cells.

The findings suggest CBD-Nem could provide a more effective and safer delivery system for treating mammary carcinoma in dogs, supporting future in vivo studies to evaluate its therapeutic potential.

The study concludes by stating:

To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the effects of CBD incorporated into nanoemulsion (CBD-Nem) on mammary canine cancer cells, with results that could support future clinical trials. Our findings indicate antineoplastic activity at concentrations comparable to those previously studied in human breast cancer cells. Importantly, in this study, CBD-Nem was obtained without the use of solvents such as ethanol or DMSO, employing low-energy techniques that are easily scalable. These formulations exhibited high stability and sustained release, potentially resulting in prolonged effects that could reduce the need for repeated administration. The above hypothesis is supported within this paper because CBD-Nem prevented the colony formation (20 days) of canine cancer cells. CBD-Nem demonstrated preferential toxicity for cancer (CF41.Mg) over non-cancer (MDCK) cells. Furthermore, CBD-Nem prevents cell migration and invasion, a key pathological aspect of tumor malignancy. Further research is needed to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying the observed effects and the therapeutic potential in canine mammary cancer.