What are minor cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a group of chemical compounds found in cannabis plants. These compounds interact with cell receptors in your brain, body, and central nervous system to produce different effects. 

CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the most renowned cannabinoids and falls under the major cannabinoids. However, we are going to focus on the minor cannabinoids in this write-up.

There is a wide variety of the minor cannabinoids which can be found in small quantities within strains of cannabis or by extracting them from the plant itself. Premium hemp suppliers like  GVB Biopharma have minor cannabinoids available in different extracted forms. By making minor cannabinoids available as distillates, isolates, and water soluble extracts, the hemp industry is growing rapidly as new product types are being created rapidly.  

Popular minor cannabinoids and their potential benefits

• CBG aka cannabigerol

Cannabigerol, also known as CBG, is the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. It has a variety of therapeutic properties and can be extracted to create cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) which is used in the production of CBD oil.  It is also used to make the terpene phenolic acid. 

CBG is currently being studied for its pain relieving properties and preliminary studies showing efficacy in managing cancer-related side effects as well as the inflammatory bowel disorder known as Crohn’s disease.

• CBN, or cannabinol

CBN, or cannabinol, is the byproduct of degrading the psychoactive component of cannabis.  It is considered less psychoactive than THC and is believed to have anticonvulsant effects. CBN is also believed to decrease anxiety and improve levels of relaxation. 

• CBC aka cannabichromene

Cannabichromene, also known as CBC is another non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. CBC is believed to have potent anti-inflammatory properties and preliminary studies suggest that it may decrease cell death associated with stroke and heart attacks.

CBCA aka cannabichromenic acid Cannabichromenic acid (CBCA) is the acidic precursor to CBC. When heated it converts into its neutral form, CBC.

• Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA)

Another type of minor cannabinoid is cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). CBDA has 95% homology with CBD and when heated decarboxylates creating cannabidiol (CBD).  

CBDA is the acidic precursor to CBD. CBDA differs from CBD by one double bond at the 2-position. When CBDA is heated, it decarboxylates converting into its neutral form – CBD.

Unlike CBD, CBDA does not have an effect on the neurotransmitters but rather binds to cannabinoid receptors.

Sources

1. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-investigate-minor-cannabinoids-terpenes-potential-pain-relieving-properties 
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7321064/ 
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7321064/ 
4. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2371527 
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/cannabinol
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480122/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3417459/