The invention relates to the discovery that cis-epoxyeicosatraenoic acids (EETs) bind to and act as agonists of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor and the cannabinoid CB2 receptor. The invention provides methods of reducing symptoms of conditions whose activity is mediated by these receptors, including inhibiting anxiety, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells expressing peripheral benzodiazepine receptors, and reducing oxygen radical damage to cells, by contacting the cells with a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid, an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), or both. The invention further provides methods of inhibiting irritable bowel syndrome by administering to individuals with inhibiting irritable bowel syndrome a cis-epoxyeicosantrienoic acid, an inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), or both. In some embodiments, the method comprises administering to the individual a nucleic acid which inhibits expression of sEH.
