The Effect of Cannabidiol Oil on Cortisol Levels in Lab Mice
Author : Dakota Agee
Joplin High School
Abstract
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil has been said to reduce stress levels and has been given to pets as a medication to treat stress, yet little research has been done on the accuracy of this claim (Kogan et al., 2019). The purpose of this study focused on cortisol levels (stress levels) in lab mice to see if CBD oil actually reduces an animal’s stress level. If lab mice are given varying amounts of cannabidiol oil, will they experience lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone)? The mice were given varying amounts of CBD oil and weighed every day, then fecal samples were collected from each mouse. A cortisol assay kit was run on the fecal samples to test the cortisol levels. The data was analyzed and showed that the mice receiving the highest amount of CBD oil had the lowest levels of cortisol (p-value 0.003). There were no significant differences between the groups’ masses (p-value 0.7961).
Comments