Cannabidiol mitigates high-fat-diet-induced early-stage inflammation in two adipose tissue fat depots of Wistar rats

Cannabidiol (CBD) has potential for treating obesity-induced inflammation; thus, we studied the influence of CBD on the accumulation of lipid precursors of inflammation, the, enzymes, and cytokine levels in the subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of animals with obesity-induced early-stage inflammation. Our experiment was performed on rats fed a high-fat (HFD) or control diet, which received CBD or its vehicle. The accumulation and composition of lipid fractions were assessed via gas‒liquid chromatography, whereas the expression of inflammatory pathway enzymes and the cytokine content were evaluated via Western blot or multiplexing, respectively. In addition to selective changes in the content of cytokines, the administration of CBD to HFD-fed rats also decreased the deposition of all the lipid fractions in VAT, whereas in SAT, only the free fatty acid and diacylglycerol fractions were affected. Moreover, CBD reduced the deposition of arachidonic acid and the expression of enzymes associated with the synthesis of lipid precursors of inflammation in both the SAT and VAT of HFD-fed rats. Although the data revealed the beneficial influence of CBD on lipid precursors of inflammation metabolism in both fat depots, more pronounced changes were observed in VAT, which is a tissue that is more predisposed to metabolic disease development.