CBG - Cannabigerol - From the Mother of all Cannabinoids
CBG - Cannabigerol
What is CBG?
CBG (or cannabigerol), like the better known CBD (or cannabidiol), is one of the 140+ cannabinoids found in the cannabis/hemp plant. It was first discovered in 1964, but up until recently, very few studies had been completed and there is still a lot to learn. CBG has some unique features that makes CBG potentially very useful for certain ailments. CBG's pain relieving properties are thought by some experts (including 'the pioneer of cannabinoid medicine') to be greater than CBD and even THC. Like CBD, it doesn't have impairing effects like other cannabinoids, such as the most famous cannabinoid THC.
Why is CBG called 'the mother of all cannabinoids'?
All cannabinoids in both hemp and cannabis begin their life as CBGA, the acidic precursor to CBG. As the plant grows, enzymes break down CBGA into CBD, THC and over 140 other cannabinoids. CBG is extracted from young plants, which tend to contain more CBG than older plants, and because of the low quantities found in the plant, CBG can be many times more expensive to extract than CBD, meaning products with CBG are likely to be much more expensive than CBD alone.
How does CBG work?
Unlike CBD, CBG actual imitates our own endocannabinoids, binding to our CB1 and CB2 endocannabinoid receptors. We are unsure if CBG is an agonist or an antagonist for the cannabinoid receptor CB2, however, its clear there is a reaction. CBG replicates the effects of an endocannabinoid naturally produced by the body called anandamide and CBG increases anandamide levels in the body, which is extremely important when looking for further relief for certain conditions where additional cannabinoids could bring further therapeutic actions.
What could CBG be used for? What does the research tell us?
Anxiety and Depression
In this 2010 study (1), it is shown that CBG is a strong agonist of the 5-HT1A receptor in the hypothalamus, this is better known as the precursor to serotonin or "the happy hormone" - this directly impacts mood and is known to lessen stress and anxiety.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) results in a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract (it includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). This 2013 study (2) on animals found that CBG reduced inflammation and nitric oxide production in the colon.
Bladder Dysfunction
A 2015 study (3) tested the effects of many cannabinoids on bladder contractions. Researchers found that CBG was the best cannabinoid in treating bladder dysfunctions.
Bacterial Infections
A 2020 study (4) discovered that CBG has high strength antibacterial properties. CBG was shown in the study to be effective against methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA is well known for causing drug-resistant infections that are known to be extremely difficult to treat.
Glaucoma
In a 2008 study (5) on animals, the results showed that CBG had been effective in treating glaucoma. Research showed that CBG reduced eye pressure.
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington disease, although rare, is an inherited condition causes the destruction of nerve cells in the brain. In this 2015 study (6), researchers tested the effects of CBG and other cannabinoids in mice with an experimental model of Huntington's disease.
In the study, CBG was shown to be a neuroprotective compound by protecting the nerve cells in the brain from damage.
Colon Cancer
In a 2014 study (7), researchers found that CBGA reduced tumor growth in mouse models of colon cancer. CBG inhibits colon carcinogenesis by blocking TRPM8 channels that promote cancer cell growth. It also inhibited the production of colorectal cancer cells.
Appetite Stimulant
A 2016 study (8) found that CBG had appetite stimulating effects. Rats that were dosed with CBG were able to eat double the amount of food compared to the control group who were not administered CBG. Appetite stimulation can be helpful for chemo-induced appetite loss and appetite issues in HIV patients.
Inflammatory Response
While CBD is best known for its role in supporting a healthy immune response, CBG has shown effects in inflammatory response, in this study (9)
Psoriasis
CBG appears it could help psoriasis by suppressing the skin cell proliferation neurons and inflammation-inducing agents consistent with the condition.
Analgesic/Pain Relief
In this study (10), CBG was found to show more analgesic (pain reducing) effects than THC and is a much better GABA reuptake inhibitor than both THC and CBD. Additionally, CBG was found it could act as a muscle relaxant.
Whilst these studies indicate CBG could be of help to these various issues, obviously the research is still in its infancy, as with all cannabinoids, and we can't claim with any scientific certainly as yet that it would be able to treat these conditions, or the effects of these conditions - in saying this, the research is promising and thats why Bio Med CBD have relaunched our CBD/CBG range, to see if this can help people further with some issues than Full Spectrum CBD can alone.
Please find our CBG range here, and as always our team of experienced cannabinoid researchers and qualified cannabis experts would be happy to answer any questions you may have about CBG, CBD or other cannabinoids. You can easily contact us via the 'contact us' page or via the messenger application on the website.
All the best,
The Bio Med CBD Team
References
(1) Evidence that the plant cannabinoid cannabigerol is a highly potent α2-adrenoceptor agonist and moderately potent 5HT1A receptor antagonist - MG Cascio,LA Gauson,LA Stevenson, RA Ross, RG Pertwee - First published: 19 January 2010
(2) Beneficial effect of the non-psychotropic plant cannabinoid cannabigerol on experimental inflammatory bowel disease Francesca Borrelli, Ines Fasolino, BarbaraRomano, RaffaeleCapasso, FrancescoMaiello, DianaCoppola, PierangeloOrlando, GiovanniBattista, EsterPagano, VincenzoDi Marzo, Angelo A.Izzo First published: 17 January 2013
(3) Effect of Non-psychotropic Plant-derived Cannabinoids on Bladder Contractility: Focus on Cannabigerol - Ester Pagano, Vittorino Montanaro, Antonio Di Girolamo, Antonio Pistone, Vincenzo Altieri, Jordan K Zjawiony, Angelo A Izzo, Raffaele Capasso PMID: 26197538 First Published: 10 June 2015
(4) Uncovering the Hidden Antibiotic Potential of Cannabis - Maya A. Farha, Omar M. El-Halfawy, Robert T. Gale, Craig R. MacNair, Lindsey A. Carfrae, Xiong Zhang, Nicholas G. Jentsch, Jakob Magolan, and Eric D. Brown* - Publication Date:February 4, 2020
(5) Possibilities of applying cannabinoids in the treatment of glaucoma -Krystyna Nadolska, Roman Goś - Publication date: 2010
(6) Neuroprotective properties of cannabigerol in Huntington's disease: studies in R6/2 mice and 3-nitropropionate-lesioned mice - Sara Valdeolivas, Carmen Navarrete, Irene Cantarero, María L Bellido, Eduardo Muñoz, Onintza Sagredo - Publication date 12th January 2015
(7) Cannabinoid Effects on Experimental Colorectal Cancer Models Reduce Aberrant Crypt Foci (ACF) and Tumor Volume: A Systematic Review -Eduardo Orrego-González, Luisa Londoño-Tobón, José Ardila-González, Diego Polania-Tovar, Ana Valencia-Cárdenas, and Alberto Velez-Van Meerbeke -Publication date: 20th July 2020
(8) Cannabigerol is a novel, well-tolerated appetite stimulant in pre-satiated rats -Daniel I Brierley, James Samuels, Marnie Duncan, Benjamin J Whalley, and Claire M Williams – publication date 9th August 2016
(9) Beneficial effect of the non-psychotropic plant cannabinoid cannabigerol on experimental inflammatory bowel disease - Francesca Borrelli, Ines Fasolino, Barbara Romano, Raffaele Capasso, Francesco Maiello, Diana Coppola, Pierangelo Orlando, Giovanni Battista, Ester Pagano, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Angelo A Izzo - Publication date: 12th Feb 2013
(10) Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain - Ethan B Russo - Publication Date: 4th Feb 2008