CBG: How it works

The CBD market is booming, products are getting better and prices are getting lower. Regulations such as Novel Foods are being introduced and the industry is becoming more popular with every passing day. As a result of this rapid industry expansion there are already people looking forward for the next big thing within the Cannabis industry and the general consensus is that CBG is a likely candidate. Cannabigerol is typically only found in minute amounts in normal Cannabis plants compared to the ‘major’ cannabinoids CBD and THC.

Cannabigerol was discovered in 1964 but hasn’t been studied in the same detail as THC or CBD, mainly due to its relative scarcity within the Cannabis plant – typically only 1% of its total mass. The reason for its low presence is also the reason for the nickname of ‘Mother of all Cannabinoids’. CBG is the product of decarboxylation of CBGa (its acid form), which is itself the starting point for production of THC and CBD within the plant. As a side effect of consistently selecting for strains of Cannabis that have high THC or CBD content, the percentage content of CBG has suffered as a result, making it harder and more expensive to produce specific CBG products.

Though more difficult to produce than the two major cannabinoids, CBG has still been studied to a reasonable degree. The recent increase in popularity of cannabinoids from the public has aided this in recent years, likely due to an improved availability and subsequently more favourable pricing. This has, in turn, led to an increase in knowledge of the potential uses of CBG. One such example is in its ability to promote appetite, demonstrated in rats for both a chemotherapy context (Brierley et al. 2019) and in a normal feeding situation (Brierley et al. 2018). In both situations, Brierley et al. found that CBG in doses of 120mg/kg or higher led to an increase in the number of meals consumed and nearly double the overall food intake. While the dosage used is much higher than you would find in any readily commercially available product, this provides an interesting starting point from which to investigate replacing THC as an appetite stimulant in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. While THC is certainly effective in this regard, its inherent psychoactivity can be an unwelcome side effect and makes it harder to utilise from a legal perspective. CBG avoids this due to its lack of psychoactivity, making it an interesting alternative if the effects shown in these studies can be carried over to human trials.

Another interesting potential application of CBG is its inflammation mediating properties. CBD has been shown in numerous studies to reduce multiple types of inflammation, so it seems intuitive that other cannabinoids would share this functionality. CBG specifically has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties for numerous applications, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (Borrelli et al. 2013) and neuroinflammation (Granja et al. 2012, Valdeolivas et al. 2014).

Regarding IBD, Borelli et al. found that CBG induced effective preventative benefits at 1mg/kg, and curative effects at doses from 5mg/kg (with maximal efficiency at 30mg/kg). Since IBD is typically only detected after symptoms are presented, the curative properties of CBG were investigated in detail and the results were exceptional. Its activity was twofold: reducing the high-pressure build-up of fluid (oedema) and assisting with regeneration of damaged glands.

Neuroinflammation is slightly different to other forms of inflammation because it can present itself in the form of many different conditions (Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.). The brain is an incredibly complex organ which is still not fully understood, which compounds the difficulty of determining what specific condition neuroinflammation is contributing to. CBG demonstrates an effectiveness in reducing neuroinflammation (Gugliandolo et al. 2018) through its receptor binding activity, meaning it may hold promise for generalised treatment of a wide range of neuroinflammatory disorders. This would be more valuable than a specific treatment for a single disease, as it would allow for the use of CBG as a ‘first responder’ treatment until more specialised treatments can be developed and rolled out. Finally, cannabinoids are normally well tolerated and are therefore low risk, which is ideal for treatment of conditions as complex as neuroinflammatory diseases.

Despite a relative lack definitive research on CBG compared to THC or CBD, there exists a solid base from which to expand understanding of this compound to the same level as the major cannabinoids and hopefully begin developing CBG medicines and pharmaceuticals. It will likely be many years before the market gets to this point, but there is definitive evidence that CBG holds therapeutic potential across a variety of applications. It’s only a matter of time before this compound is being bred for specifically in the plant and produced to pharmaceutical grade.

References

• Borrelli et al. (2013) Beneficial effect of the non-psychotropic plant cannabinoid cannabigerol on experimental inflammatory bowel disease, Biochemical Pharmacology, 85, 1306-1316
• Brierley et al. (2018) Cannabigerol is a novel, well-tolerated appetite stimulant in pre-satiated rats, Psychopharmacology, 233, 3603-3613
• Brierley et al. (2019) Chemotherapy-induced cachexia dysregulates hypothalamic and systemic lipoamines and is attenuated by cannabigerol, Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, 10, 844-859
• Granja et al (2012) A Cannabigerol Quinone Alleviates Neuroinflammation in a Chronic Model of Multiple Sclerosis, Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 7(4)
• Gugliandolo et al. (2018) In Vitro Model of Neuroinflammation: Efficacy of Cannabigerol, a Non-Psychoactive Cannabinoid, International Journal of Molecular Science, 19(7), 1992
• Valdeolivas et al. (2014) Neuroprotective Properties of Cannabigerol in Huntington’s Disease: Studies in R6/2 Mice and 3-Nitropropionate-lesioned Mice, Neurotherapeutics, 12(1), 185-199