
Hey! In the last post I briefly discussed the various labels or names that we currently use for cannabis and how they don't quite give the cannabis consumer the information they really need. So if you're a cannabis consumer or wanting to learn more about cannabis to start consuming the plant, how on earth are you supposed to choose the right cannabis strain to consume?? This is the question that a lot of people are asking themselves when it comes to cannabis. With this post we're going to review the various components of cannabis that will give the cannabis consumer a better idea of how to choose which strain might work best for the symptoms you're experiencing. The attached image has several examples of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that are in the cannabis plant, but there are so many more to learn about than just those.
First, let's start with the names of the components of the cannabis plant. Some of these names might be familiar to you: cannabinoids, terpenes(terpenoids), and flavonoids are all names of components of the cannabis pant. These components within the cannabis plant all play different parts when interacting within the body and can have different effects depending on the amounts found within the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant contains within it over 100 individual components that are being studied for their potential effect on the body but since cannabis is federally illegal still, the research hasn't yet been completed. Cannabinoids can be a kind of catch all term for all the components of the cannabis plant, but in reality, the term cannabinoid typically refers to the specific chemical compounds that are 3-ring shaped and have 21 carbon atoms1. Now this definition doesn't really help determine which strain to buy, but it does need to be mentioned because our bodies produce cannabinoids just like plants produce cannabinoids; so when you hear endocannabinoids, those are cannabinoids that our bodies produce and phytocannabinoids are those that are produced by plants (cannabis as well as other plants).
Terpenes (also called terpenoids) are another compound that many are probably familiar with. The definition that Dr. Bonni Goldstein uses in her book is that "terpenes are the essential oils that occur naturally and exist in all plants, including the cannabis plant1." Learning about terpenes is an ongoing project as more than 20,000 different terpenes have been found over multiple different plants and about 200 of those different terpenes naturally occur in cannabis1. The essential oils of cannabis, the terpenes, are what gives the cannabis plant the color, odor, and flavor, and they act as a defence mechanism to help keep predators at bay1. While the word terpene may be familiar and we are starting to see more and more research regarding terpenes, there is still so much more research to be done to truly understand how they work in and on the body. The research that has been done on terpenes has shown that knowing what terpenes are within the cannabis product you're purchasing, will help the patient get the most focused type of cannabis as medicine for their symptoms.
The last component to discuss, for now, is flavonoids. Flavonoids are perhaps not as commonly known as terpenes or cannabinoids, but they are a component of the cannabis (as well as other fruits, veggies, and flowers) and help provide the pigment needed for the plant1. Flavonoids also act as a filter for UV rays, they help prevent plant diseases, and research has shown promising possibilities concerning inflammation, bacteria, and some viruses1. If cannabis has not been fully researched, cannabis flavonoids have been researched even less so, but since there are also flavonoids in other foods and drinks like red wine, green tea, berries, celery, chamomile tea, we do know a bit, just perhaps not as much as we would like to in relation to the cannabis plant2. Flavonoids from fruits and veggies have long been advertised to have antioxidant properties, such as antiviral, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory benefits3. There are really exciting possibilities when it comes to cannabis and I look forward to seeing what research comes out next.
There is so much to discuss when it comes to cannabis, and so much still yet that we don't fully know about the cannabis plant. The three main components that we discussed today, cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, give us a starting point when trying to find the right cannabis product for a particular issue or symptom. Now that we know the different major components of the cannabis plant, we can begin to focus on the different cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids that can be useful in different situations.
Sources
1. Goldstein, B. (2020) “Chapter 1: The Cannabis Pant,” in Cannabis is medicine: How medical cannabis and CBD are healing everything from anxiety to chronic pain. New York, NY: Little, Brown Spark, pp. 9–25.
2. Louis, W.-S.B. (2018) “Chapter 5: Cannabinoids and the entourage effect,” in Cannabis: A clinician's guide. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & Francis, pp. 53–61.
3. Tanaka T, Iuchi A, Harada H, Hashimoto S. Potential Beneficial Effects of Wine Flavonoids on Allergic Diseases. Diseases. 2019;7(1):8. Published 2019 Jan 15. doi:10.3390/diseases7010008
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