Creator

Arjun Ramani

First Advisor

Stewart, Laura K.

Second Advisor

Stewart, Laura K.

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

8-2023

Department

College of Natural and Health Sciences, Kinesiology Nutrition and Dietetics, KiND Student Work

Embargo Date

8-1-2025

Abstract

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabis sativa derivative, is gaining attention as a potential promotor of neurological function and cognitive health and as a potential anti-inflammatory compound, although these claims lack evidence-based support from the scientific community. The purpose of this study was to determine whether 8 weeks of 2 doses, 40 mg (CB40) or 20 mg (CB20), of CBD containing beverages will improve psychological health, cognitive function, neural health as well as NK and NKT cell quantity and NK cell function when compared to a control vehicle beverage (CBDV) and a calorie-matched placebo beverage (PLAC) in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, 4 arm manner. It was hypothesized that participants consuming CBD will experience improvements in psychological health measured by the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) survey and piper fatigue scale (PFS), improvements in cognitive function measured by PROMIS Cognitive Function and Cognitive Abilities short forms and by the sustained attention to response task (SART), improvements in neural health measured by serum brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and improved immune function measured by increases in natural killer (NK) and NKT cell proportions of peripheral blood and increased NK cell cytotoxicity determined by measures of K562 human myelogenous leukemia cell viability following an 8-week CBD intervention. A total of 102 healthy participants were recruited from the University of Northern Colorado and nearby communities and randomly assigned to one of four groups: CB40 (n = 25), CB20 (n = 28), CBDV (n = 24), PLAC (n = 25). Participants consumed their assigned beverage; (CB40; 50 mg/100mL L-Theanine, 2.4 mg/100mL Vitamin E, 42.3 mg/100mL Vitamin C), (CB20; 53 mg/100mL L-Theanine, 2.6 mg/100mL Vitamin E, 44.4 mg/100mL Vitamin C), (CBDV; 51 mg/100mL L-Theanine, 2.5 mg/100mL Vitamin E, 39.6 mg/100mL Vitamin C), or (PLAC;/100mL L-Theanine,

Extent

175 pages

Local Identifiers

Ramani_unco_0161D_11163.pdf

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

Available for download on Friday, August 01, 2025

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