BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders that presents in a large number of drug-resistant patients. Given the presence of the anticonvulsant compounds in Cannabis and its use in traditional medicine, this study aims to evaluate the effect of Cannabis sativa extract on the treatment of seizures.

METHODS: In this experimental study, 40 Syrian male rats were selected and randomly divided into five groups, including one control, one sham, and three experimental groups. The control group only received pentylentetrazol (PTZ), the sham group was administered distilled water, and the experimental groups were gavaged with 400, 600, and 800 mg/kg of body weight of the aqueous extract of Cannabis sativa for four weeks. Moreover, 45 mg/kg of PTZ was intraperitoneally administered 30 minutes later in the experimental and sham groups. Finally, the convulsive behaviors and the relevant parameters were recorded using a camera inside a specific cage for 25 minutes.

FINDINGS: Aqueous extract of Cannabis sativa increased the delay of seizure onset at the dose of 800 mg/kg compared to the control group (232.87±33.76 sec vs. 103.84±7.50 sec; p<0.05) and inhibited the progression of epilepsy phases equally at each three doses compared to the control group (1.91±0.5 vs. 5±0; p<0.00).

CONCLUSION: The results showed that cannabis extract had the maximum anticonvulsant effect on PTZ-induced seizures at the dose of 800 mg.kg of body weight. Therefore, the anticonvulsant properties of aqueous extract of cannabis are dose-dependent.