Rare cannabinoid Science Popularization: CBDA

Rare cannabinoid Science Popularization: CBDA

In the past five years, the world began to pay attention to cannabis diphenol (CBD). Perhaps the largest consumer market is in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, of which nearly 10% of the population admit to having tried CBD oil. Most people may think that industrial cannabis or industrial cannabis plants used to manufacture CBD products can be found in magical molecules. However, in fact, this is not the case.

Cannabis bisphenol acid (CBDA) - a plant precursor of CBD - is found in fresh industrial cannabis. CBD appears only when its acidic counterpart is heated.

CBDA has been wrongly considered as an inactive compound for many years. This concept - coupled with the instability of CBDA, which begins to degrade over time - means that scientific research on acidic forms of CBD is quite limited.

However, due to the introduction of the patented CBDA "ester" (an interesting variant of CBD molecule) and a large number of positive rumors about the efficacy of CBDA by medical industrial marijuana patients and doctors, CBDA is now undergoing a certain revival and media interest is increasing.

What is CBDA?

In 1965, Raphael mechoulam, an Israeli scientist, first isolated industrial cannabinoid acid.

By exposing to sufficient heat or sunlight, CBDA becomes CBD through a chemical process called decarboxylation, in which the carboxyl group is lost.

For many diseases such as cancer, anxiety, epilepsy, refractory nausea and vomiting, CBDA may play an important role in the treatment table.

Although many of us associate decarboxylation with industrial marijuana, the same chemical reaction occurs in cell respiration. That's why we all exhale carbon dioxide as a metabolic byproduct.

For many years, decarboxylated cannabinoids have been considered as "activating" compounds that produce more effective therapeutic effects in our bodies. However, this hypothesis has recently been reversed, and studies have shown that CBDA is more effective in activating 5 - ht1a serotonin receptors than CBD. As an antagonist of another important receptor GPR55, CBDA also showed stronger binding affinity than CBD.

These findings show that CBDA can indeed play an important role in the treatment of cancer, anxiety, epilepsy, refractory nausea and vomiting and other diseases.

Because of its role in emotion regulation, serotonin is probably the most well-known neurotransmitter. However, the biological effects of serotonin go far beyond making us happy. It is related to many physiological functions such as nausea, vomiting and intestinal movement.

Our understanding of the activation of 5 - ht1a serotonin receptors by CBDA is largely due to the research of Erin rock and her team at Guelph University in Ontario, led by neuroscientist Linda Parker. Rock studied the application of CBD and CBDA in the treatment of different types of nausea and vomiting.

She showed that by binding to 5-HT1A receptors in a more effective manner than CBD, CBDA inhibited nausea and vomiting caused by toxins and motion sickness.

The amount of CBDA required to reduce nausea is a staggering 1000 times less than the amount required for CBD to produce the same effect.

Perhaps the most exciting breakthrough has to do with the remarkable success of CBDA in reducing the expected nausea - a strong nausea that patients feel terrible before chemotherapy and even before treatment begins. It should be noted that there is no effective drug treatment for anticipatory nausea.

In another study on the effect of combining CBDA with ondansetron, a standard antiemetic drug, rock's team found that CBDA could enhance the anti nausea effect of the drug even at very low doses.

In fact, rock continues to assert that the amount of CBDA required to reduce nausea is a staggering 1000 times less than the amount required for CBD to produce the same effect.

In addition, Canadian scientists confirmed that CBDA is not intoxicating or damaging because it does not interact with CB1 industrial cannabinoid receptors. This makes CBDA a better choice for patients who struggle with the mood changing effects of THC rich industrial cannabis or dronabinol (FDA approved synthetic THC).

CBDA and epilepsy

CBD has become the mainstream mainly because of its famous antiepileptic effect. So far, the only approved CBD drug in the United States is the purified CBD tincture epidiolex, which is used to treat three kinds of drug-resistant epilepsy.

It is not surprising that GW Pharma, the company behind epidiolex, is paying close attention to the therapeutic potential of CBDA. In the pharmacokinetic study comparing CBDA with CBD, GW scientists found that CBDA has higher bioavailability and faster onset than CBD - these characteristics make CBDA a very attractive choice for drug development.

Not only does it require a lower dose (thereby reducing the chance of side effects), but CBDA is more effective in reducing seizures in some parameters. Some of these data appear in the patent application of GW

Used to "treat epilepsy with industrial cannabinoids" rather than in peer-reviewed studies. But it certainly supports rock's findings and anecdotal reports from American industrial marijuana clinicians such as Bonni Goldstein and Dustin sulak, who have achieved great success in treating patients with CBDA.

Case history

Peruvian doctor Max Alzamora shared a convincing case study involving CBDA at the recent webinar of the association of industrial cannabis clinicians.

Grundy, 14, had 10 seizures a day due to autoimmune encephalitis. Before seeing Dr. Alzamora, she was in a coma for 45 days. She was also infected with drug-induced hepatitis, which was caused by the drug she prescribed.

Glendy's parents purchased CBD oil from the United States, thereby reducing some seizures. However, it is not economically feasible for the family to purchase imported CBD oil, so Dr. Alzamora found a local source of CBD oil. Or he thinks so.

"Acid cannabinoids open up a range of therapeutic possibilities." – Dr Max Alzamora

It turns out that CBD oil is not decarboxylated, and glendy is actually taking CBDA. This was later confirmed when the oil was sent to a California Laboratory for analysis. Guess what - her seizures are further reduced. In fact, according to the latest statistics, Grundy, now 16, has only 10 seizures a year and no longer takes any antiepileptic drugs. Since switching to CBDA oil, her cognitive development, anxiety, autistic behavior and overall quality of life have been significantly improved.

"Although I have achieved good results in patients treated with industrial cannabinoids containing THC and CBD," Dr. Alzamora said, "CBDA is particularly effective in the treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and inflammatory diseases. For me, acid industrial cannabinoids open up a range of treatment possibilities."

However, medical scientists still need to understand the multiple mechanisms of CBDA in epilepsy and other diseases. "I personally will collect more evidence to benefit patients," Alzamora asserted.

Anti inflammatory CBDA

Since glendy's epilepsy is caused by autoimmune diseases, her positive response to CBDA may be partly attributed to the anti-inflammatory effect of acid cannabinoid, which may be due to its role as a selective COX-2 inhibitor.

There are two types of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes: COX-1 maintains the normal inner wall of the stomach and intestine, and COX-2 has a pro-inflammatory effect. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, inhibit COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. By inhibiting COX-1, long-term use of these over-the-counter drugs can lead to serious gastrointestinal complications.

Therefore, the development of selective COX-2 inhibitors that bypass COX-1 and alleviate inflammation related symptoms in patients while avoiding any dangerous long-term consequences has therapeutic significance. As a COX-2 inhibitor, CBDA has shown its potential as a safer non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, although it has not been studied in humans.

Get some CBDA in your life

In fact, after living in the shadow of CBD for so many years, it seems that CBDA is finally recognized as a safe and more effective substitute in some aspects, which can replace its famous industrial cannabinoid. If you want to use CBD in your daily life to solve some problems, please feel free to contact us