An overview on medicinal chemistry of synthetic and natural derivatives of cannabidiol

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been traditionally used in Cannabis-based preparation, however historically, it has received far less interest as a single drug than the other components of Cannabis. Currently, CBD generates considerable interest due to its beneficial neuroprotective, antiepileptic, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the CBD scaffold becomes of increasing interest for medicinal chemists. This review provides an overview of the chemical structure of natural and synthetic CBD derivatives including the molecular targets associated with these compounds. A clear identification of their biological targets has been shown to be still very challenging.Financial support was provided by Spanish Grants from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SAF2015-68580-C2- 2-R (MINECO/FEDER) (NJ) and NIH grants RO1 DA003934 and KO5 DA021358 (PR).Peer Reviewe