Seven days of 60 mg CBD significantly blunted exercise-induced liver enzyme elevations in trained athletes without causing hepatotoxicity.
Athletes using CBD, sports medicine physicians, and anti-doping researchers.
60 mg CBD daily for 7 days significantly reduced exercise-induced liver enzyme spikes in trained athletes
What the researchers found
In a three-arm crossover RCT, exercise significantly increased liver enzymes GOT and GPT in placebo groups. Both CBD oil and CBD solubilisate at 60 mg/day for 7 days significantly blunted these increases in the advanced athlete group (GOT: p=0.050 and p=0.027; GPT: p=0.027 and p=0.023). These effects were not observed in highly advanced athletes. No hepatotoxic effects were detected.
Why it matters
CBD is widely used by athletes but concerns about liver safety persist. This study provides evidence that low-dose CBD (below the 300 mg LOAEL threshold) is not hepatotoxic and may actually protect against exercise-induced liver stress.
The numbers in context
17 subjects, 60 mg CBD daily for 7 days. GOT reduction: CBD oil p=0.050 (ES=0.66), CBD solu p=0.027 (ES=0.75). GPT reduction: CBD oil p=0.027 (ES=0.75), CBD solu p=0.023 (ES=0.77). Effects seen in advanced but not highly advanced athletes.
How the study worked
Randomized, three-arm, double-blind, crossover study with 17 well-trained male subjects (age 26, 85.6 kg). Two CBD products (oil and solubilisate, 60 mg each) versus placebo, consumed daily over 7 days during high-intensity exercise microcycles. Liver enzymes (GOT, GPT, GGT) and creatinine measured pre and post each microcycle.
What this study cannot tell us
Small sample (n=17), all male. Effects only seen in advanced but not highly advanced athletes, suggesting fitness-dependent responses. Short duration (7 days). Crossover design helps but washout period adequacy is unclear.
How to read the evidence
Well-designed crossover RCT with appropriate blinding, but very small all-male sample and short duration limit generalizability.
When this study was published
2025 publication.
The bigger picture
The finding that CBD has pharmacological effects on liver enzymes even at 60 mg (well below doses used in epilepsy treatment) suggests that consumer-grade CBD products are not biologically inert, even if they do not cause overt harm.
Questions still open
- Why did highly advanced athletes not show the same liver enzyme blunting?
- Would longer CBD use at this dose eventually show hepatotoxic effects?
Read the original research
Short-term repeated oral intake of low dose cannabidiol: effects on liver enzyme activity and creatinine concentration during intense exercise.
Archives of toxicology, 99(2), 815-824
Citation
Isenmann, Eduard; Lachenmeier, Dirk W; Flenker, Ulrich; Lesch, Alessio; Veit, Sebastian; Diel, Patrick. (2025). Short-term repeated oral intake of low dose cannabidiol: effects on liver enzyme activity and creatinine concentration during intense exercise.. Archives of toxicology, 99(2), 815-824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-024-03904-1
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