Relationship of the Endocannabinoid System with Hormonal Functions

Endogenous cannabinoids and the concomitant activation of their CB1 receptors cause a plethora of effects, including inhibition of prolactin and growth hormone secretion and increased ACTH44 secretion; anxiolytic effects, through actions on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; inhibition of testosterone secretion, anovulation, and uterine relaxation due to their effects on the release of hypothalamic peptides and hormones and their regulation by steroids. The manuscript aims to verify the relationship of the Endocannabinoid System with hormonal functions. This work is a literature review, based on scientific articles. The inclusion criteria for the articles that were part of this review were: articles published in the last 20 years and published in Portuguese and English on the subject, carefully selected in databases such as Scielo, PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm .nih.gov/), Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com.ec/schhp?hl=pt-br), Capes Portal (https://www.periodicos.capes.gov.br/), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (http://www.bireme.br/), Scielo (http//www.scielo.org), (https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ submit/index), SSRN (https://hq.ssrn.com/login/pubsigninjoin.cfm) and ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net) using the following keywords: Endocannabinoid system, Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae), medicinal Cannabis, THC, phytocannabinoids, pharmacology of the endocannabinoid system, endogenous cannabinoid, cannabidiol, CB1, CB2 and hormones.