CBD improved running endurance in mice by reshaping gut bacteria
CBD increased treadmill running performance in mice by altering gut microbiome composition, with antibiotic treatment reversing the benefit and a specific bacterium replicating it.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
CBD increased running endurance, oxidative muscle fibers, and mitochondrial biogenesis; these effects depended on gut microbiome (abolished by antibiotics); CBD-enriched Bifidobacterium animalis alone improved running performance.
Key Numbers
CBD significantly increased treadmill running; antibiotic treatment reduced the endurance benefit; B. animalis KBP-1 isolate independently improved running; PGC-1a, phosphorylated CREB, and AMPK upregulated in muscle.
How They Did This
Mice received CBD and were tested on treadmill running; muscle tissue analyzed for fiber composition and mitochondrial markers; gut microbiome profiled; antibiotics used to test microbiome dependency; isolated B. animalis administered separately.
Why This Research Matters
This is the first evidence that CBD's effects on physical performance may work through the gut microbiome rather than direct muscle or brain effects.
The Bigger Picture
If CBD improves exercise capacity through gut bacteria, this opens new avenues for sports performance research and probiotic interventions.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Mouse model; single CBD dose tested; antibiotic approach affects entire microbiome; unclear if similar gut changes occur in humans.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would CBD improve exercise performance in humans through the same gut-muscle axis?
- ?What CBD doses are needed?
- ?Do recreational cannabis users show similar gut microbiome shifts?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Antibiotics abolished CBD's endurance benefit, proving the gut microbiome was required
- Evidence Grade:
- Novel mechanistic animal study with antibiotic and single-species validation, but mouse exercise models have limited human translatability.
- Study Age:
- Published 2025
- Original Title:
- Cannabidiol reshapes the gut microbiome to promote endurance exercise in mice.
- Published In:
- Experimental & molecular medicine, 57(2), 489-500 (2025)
- Authors:
- Chen, Si, Lee, Yu-Bin, Song, Mi-Young, Lim, Changjin, Cho, Hwangeui, Shim, Hyun Joo, Kim, Jong-Suk, Park, Byung-Hyun, Kim, Jeon-Kyung, Bae, Eun Ju
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06204
Evidence Hierarchy
Tests effects in animals (usually mice or rats), not humans.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Does CBD improve exercise performance?
In mice, yes. CBD increased treadmill running endurance by promoting oxidative muscle fibers and mitochondrial biogenesis, and this effect depended on gut bacteria.
Which gut bacterium was responsible?
Bifidobacterium animalis (strain KBP-1) was enriched by CBD and, when given alone, independently improved running performance in mice.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06204APA
Chen, Si; Lee, Yu-Bin; Song, Mi-Young; Lim, Changjin; Cho, Hwangeui; Shim, Hyun Joo; Kim, Jong-Suk; Park, Byung-Hyun; Kim, Jeon-Kyung; Bae, Eun Ju. (2025). Cannabidiol reshapes the gut microbiome to promote endurance exercise in mice.. Experimental & molecular medicine, 57(2), 489-500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-025-01404-5
MLA
Chen, Si, et al. "Cannabidiol reshapes the gut microbiome to promote endurance exercise in mice.." Experimental & molecular medicine, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-025-01404-5
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cannabidiol reshapes the gut microbiome to promote endurance..." RTHC-06204. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/chen-2025-cannabidiol-reshapes-the-gut
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.