{"id":29448,"date":"2016-05-05T13:45:04","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T17:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hhoupgrade.wpengine.com\/?p=29448"},"modified":"2025-01-29T21:10:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T02:10:53","slug":"phytocannabinoids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/phytocannabinoids\/","title":{"rendered":"Phytocannabinoids: An Introductory Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>What\u2019s the Difference Between Phytocannabinoids and Cannabinoids?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It might interest you to know that there\u2019s actually a minimal difference between phytocannabinoids and cannabinoids. The difference is just a matter of specificity. Phytocannabinoids refer to any cannabinoid that is naturally occurring within the cannabis family of plants. Such cannabinoids include the more famous THC and CBD, but they also include other cannabinoids such as cannabigerol (CBG), which we will discuss. There are over 70 phytocannabinoids discovered and studied within the cannabis plant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These phytocannabinoids can be considered as a contrast to <\/span><a href=\"\/endogenous-cannabinoids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">endogenous cannabinoids<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which are the lipids and ligands that your body makes on its own through the endocannabinoid system (ECS) without any interference or ingestion of the cannabis plant. Phytocannabinoids each have different ways of interacting with the ECS. \u00a0For this article, we will be looking at Cannabigerol (CBG), Cannabichromene (CBC), Cannabidiol (CBD), Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), Cannabinol (CBN), and Cannabitriol (CBT), but bear in mind that this is not the all-inclusive list. Research is still underway about further details regarding many phytocannabinoids.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cannabigerol (CBG)<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Short History<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This cannabinoid was discovered in 1964 by Gaoni and Mechoulam. Mechoulam is also credited as the first to elucidate the correct structure of CBD in 1963, according to \u201c<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.medicinalgenomics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Chemical-constituents-of-cannabis.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chemistry and Analysis of Phytocannabinoids and Other Cannabis Constituents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d by Rudolf Brenneisen. It was found that CBG, unlike THC, does not induce psychotropic effects. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Interaction with Receptors<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2823359\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, scientists found that cannabigerol is a potent stimulator of [35S]GTP?S binding to brain membranes. The cannabinoid was also tested on isolated vas deferens in mice. (For anyone who may not have been paying attention in biology class when they talked about sex&#8211;why weren\u2019t you paying attention to that?&#8211;the vas deferens is the duct that conveys sperm from the testicle to the urethra). Cannabigerol was found to inhibit electrically evoked contractions of the vas deferens. Since these contractions are \u201cthought to result from the release of ATP and noradrenaline on to postjunctional P2 receptors and ?1-adrenoceptors,\u201d that was thought to be cannabigerol&#8217;s mode of function and rather than the CB1 receptors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cannabigerol also behaves as a ?2-adrenoceptor agonist in mouse brain membranes. \u00a0?2-adrenoceptor agonists are kind of a big deal. But according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/bmb\/article\/71\/1\/77\/276011\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">British Medical Bulletin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, there is evidence that ?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">-adrenoceptor agonists can have neuroprotective function. The agonists were found to attenuate neurological deficiencies in rat models that had incomplete cerebral ischaemia. This is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand, leading to poor oxygen supply or cerebral hypoxia and, thus, to the death of brain tissue. \u201cSubsequent studies evaluating the possible neuroprotective value of ?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">-adrenoceptor agonists have used Dex (dexmedetomidine) because of its potency and high selectivity for the ?<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">-adrenoceptor.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As it pertains to <\/span><a href=\"\/cb-receptors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CB receptors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, cannabigerol has a higher affinity for CB1 than it does for CB2. But binding to CB1 receptors was only detectable at concentrations above those at which it stimulates [35S]GTP?S binding to the brain membranes. It is classified as a CB1 antagonist, not an agonist. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Roles<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Medical Jane, an LLC formed in June of 2012 and coined as the \u201cWebMD\u00ae of Cannabis,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicaljane.com\/2013\/08\/03\/cannabigerol-cbg-is-a-minor-cannabinoid-with-major-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cannabigerol is a minor cannabinoid with major impact<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Part of the reason for this is because cannabigerolic acid is also the main precursor for other major cannabinoid acidic precursors, THCA, CBDA (c<\/span><a href=\"\/cannabidiolic-acid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">annabidiolic acid<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">), and CBCA. These are then metabolized by synthases that can make THC, CBD, or CBC. This can also be referred to as the degradation of CBGA. Cannabigerol is thought of as the cannabis \u201cstem cell\u201d because of this role it plays in producing the other cannabinoids. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cannabichromene (CBC)<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Short History<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cannabichromene has not been studied as extensively as some of its cannabinoid brothers and sisters. But according to Alternet.org, cannabichromene was discovered in 1966, not long after the studies on cannabigerol and cannabidiol. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Interaction with Receptors<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">More work needs to be done on the scientific understanding of CBC\u2019s reaction with receptors. There are a few things we can grasp from the limited information, however. For one, according to a <\/span>study<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology in September of 2011, CBC has a low affinity for the CB1 receptor. This was discovered because it was tested in conjunction with a receptor antagonist rimonabant, which was known to block the effects of THC and other cannabinoids. But it did not manage to do so with CBC. With that said, CBC has a non-CB1 receptor method of action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In another <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/22300105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, inflammation was induced in the small intestines of mice using croton oil. To quote, \u201cCroton oil administration was associated with decreased levels of anandamide (but not 2-arachidonoyl glycerol) and palmitoylethanolamide, up-regulation of TRPA1 and CB? receptors and down-regulation of CB? receptors.&#8221; CBC outside of the organism (tested on organs or tissue separated from the organism) did not change endocannabinoid levels. It did, however, alter the mRNA expression of TRPA1 and cannabinoid receptors. In the organism, CBC did not affect motility (a term used to describe the contraction of the muscles that mix and propel contents in the gastrointestinal tract) but normalized croton oil-induced hypermotility. The results of the study are quoted as follows: \u201cCBC selectively reduces inflammation-induced hypermotility in vivo in a manner that is not dependent on cannabinoid receptors or TRPA1.\u201d In other words, CBC does not really do its main work via cannabinoid receptors, as the first study pointed out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A third <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/23941747\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> examining the effect of cannabichromene on adult neural stem\/progenitor cells suggests that CBC raises the viability (self-maintenance or ability to recover) of neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs) while inhibiting their differentiation into astroglia, possibly through up-regulation of ATP and adenosine signaling. Either way, this is kind of a big deal. You\u2019re probably not sure or familiar with what NSCPs are, but to frame their impact in an easy-to-understand way, just think of them as stem cells for your nervous system. They hold the capacity to proliferate, self-renew, and produce things that can turn into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Roles<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cannabichromene is believed to work in tandem with THC, moderating or attenuating its effects. But on its own, it is not psychoactive. Working with THC, it seems to yield relaxing effects. A plant with high cannabichromene is also likely to have higher THC content. \u00a0However, more work needs to be done to fully understand cannabichromene\u2019s role.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cannabinol (CBN)<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Short History<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The discovery of cannabinol actually has an interesting tie-in with archaeology and industrial history. Industrial hemp can be harvested for fiber purposes, as it was for at least an area in the French Massif Central, where CBN was discovered in the sediment, according to a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.science20.com\/news_articles\/history_hemp_retting_preserved_sedimentary_cannabinol_tracks-117241\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">news report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by Science 2.0. It was discovered in a sediment record from the lake, suggesting that retting took place in the area. Retting is a process used when making hemp into textiles or other high-quality applications. The bast fibers must be separated from the rest of the stalk. \u00a0It is a microbial process that breaks the chemical bonds holding these bast fibers to the woody core, effectively separating the two. You can do retting in two ways: field retting and water retting. Water retting is far more laborious and time-consuming, but it involves leaving stems immersed in water and checking them regularly. It uses a lot of water that must be clean and then treated before being discharged. This process is not really used anymore in countries that can\u2019t afford the cost or have environmental regulations against it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CBN was first named in 1896 by Wood et al., and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1021\/ja01865a083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">its structure was elucidated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 1940. In other words, people knew about it for a good long while before moving on to other phytocannabinoids.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Interaction with Receptors<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A 2012 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/22543671\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in Psychopharmacology (Berl) has shown that CBN can induce effects via the CB1 receptor. The focus of the study was to examine other cannabinoids as they pertain to appetite regulation, since THC is well documented in that area and already has legalized pharmaceutical versions to help with appetite. CBN currently is not thought to be psychotropic, so the drive to eliminate such a side effect is in demand. But reports on its psychoactivity are mixed; what is agreed upon is that its psychoactivity is so small compared to that of THC that it\u2019s negligible. The study also showed that CBN was effective in increasing appetite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for psychotropic effects, this <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/1221432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in the Journal of Pharmacology supports some of the prior claims. Participants were given differing serving sizes of CBN alone, THC alone, and two different combinations of CBN with THC. CBN seemed to mitigate or do away with any heart rate increase normally caused by THC. The participants seemed to be a bit unable to accurately assess the passage of one minute when any THC had been involved while CBN produced no effect on their assessment of time. The combination of drugs, however, seemed to make the participants \u201cfeel\u201d drugged, sleepy, or groggy more than they did with THC alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This third <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/12040079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published in the Journal of Neuroscience showed that both THC and CBN (cannabinol) \u201cinduce a CB(1)\/CB(2) cannabinoid receptor-independent release of calcitonin gene-related peptide from capsaicin-sensitive perivascular sensory nerves.\u201d With this said, there are certainly both CB1 and CB1 receptor reactions at play.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Roles and Synthesis\/Degradation<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Medical Jane, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicaljane.com\/2013\/08\/19\/cannabinol-cbn-will-put-you-to-bed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cannabinol<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is itself a degraded compound. The chemical synthesis starts with cannabigerolic acid, which is turned into THCA by THC synthase, which is then turned into cannabinolic acid via air and time and then, finally, into CBN given heat and ultraviolet light. For this reason, cannabinol has a role in telling you the age of your cannabis (if the cannabis hasn\u2019t been preserved). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cannabitriol (CBT)<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Short History<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Strangely, though this phytocannabinoid isn\u2019t really new, it would appear a Jamaican scientist by the name of Hawthorne Watson is attempting to take credit for its discovery when you Google its history &#8211; even though cannabitriol was first isolated by Obata and Ishikawa in 1966 according to a mini-review by Mahmoud A. ElSohly and Desmond Slade, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chemical constituents of marijuana: The complex mixture of natural cannabinoids<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u201d The mini-review even expands to say that nine types of cannabitriol are known. Unfortunately, this is all that seems to be solid about cannabitriol. The literature on cannabitriol is limited to just its structure and its discovery. It is definitely an area of research that needs more investigation. It appears that the other phytocannabinoids, including CBD and THC mostly, have stolen this phytocannabinoid\u2019s thunder.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC)<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luckily, these two phytocannabinoids are ones that we have spent more time talking about in depth on our website. For information about how both have their effects on receptors, this article about <\/span><a href=\"\/cb-receptors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CB receptors<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> tells you what you need to know. To get a better grasp on CBD\u2019s history as a phytocannabinoid, our article about <\/span><a href=\"\/synthetic-cbd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">synthetic CBD<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> covers that information as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>In Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Phytocannabinoids are an ongoing area of research.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is important to understand that some of them are integral to the existence of other phytocannabinoids. Cannabigerol, for example, is the cannabinoid that turns into other cannabinoids given certain synthases and exposure to heat. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">CBD and THC are the most researched phytocannabinoids. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not all cannabinoids have their mode of operation through the CB receptors but, rather, through other receptors in the body, making cannabis a true pharmacological wonder.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Please don\u2019t hesitate to contact us with any questions. We can tell you more about the phytocannabinoids in relation to our products. Specifically, though, all our products are made to be CBD-rich from industrial hemp sources. Feel free to let us know which phytocannabinoid is the most fascinating to you in the comments below.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s the Difference Between Phytocannabinoids and Cannabinoids? It might interest you to know that there\u2019s actually a minimal difference between phytocannabinoids and cannabinoids. The difference is just a matter of specificity. Phytocannabinoids refer to any cannabinoid that is naturally occurring within the cannabis family of plants. Such cannabinoids include the more famous THC and CBD, [&#8230;]\n","protected":false},"author":60581,"featured_media":29450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6438],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyhempoil.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}