Our Future in Cannabinoids
The main focus of Yuluka Health’s research team is to learn more about how the cannabinoids interact with our bodies. We can then use that knowledge to improve and provide new cannabinoid products that will have a greater impact on people's lives. Thanks to our impressive genetics library Yuluka Health will be at the forefront of the search for the unrevealed properties and unexplored synergies between the different cannabinoids. We are always striving to find better and more natural medicine by unlocking the hidden power of cannabinoids, both rare and familiar.
Cannabinoids and Your Endocannabinoid System
Cannabinoids are getting more and more public attention as legalization spreads across the globe thanks to the popularity of celebrity cannabinoids like CBD. There are, in fact, over 100 cannabinoids. They come in three different types. Firstly, there are plant-derived cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids), endogenous (our own naturally-occuring endocannabinoids), and synthetic which are created in labs to mimic phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids.
The endocannabinoid system is a sophisticated balancing system in our bodies that yearns to achieve homeostasis. It keeps everything in check: your circulatory, digestive, endocrine, muscular and nervous systems, just to name a few. When you ingest, inhale, or absorb cannabinoids, the phytocannabinoids (plant-based cannabinoids) present in the flower, oil or edible go directly to the receptors located all around your body with very particular messages. The most well-known and effective receptors are called CB1 and CB2, and they have different concentrations in different areas. So the type of message sent — whether it be “euphoria”, “sleepy-time”, “minimize inflammation” or “pain-relief” — depends entirely on the type of cannabinoids you are consuming.
How Different Cannabinoids are Created
All the other less-famous cannabinoids are just different chemical compounds that co-exist besides CBD — and many (though not all) of the minor cannabinoids are actually versions of the original cannabinoid CBG. As plants grow, bud, degrade and die, their chemical structures change. An example of this is that most of the popular cannabinoids start out at the raw phase as CBG-A which then eventually turns into different cannabinoids due to different processes, both natural and human. At Yuluka Health our growers have expert knowledge which allows them to control the levels of cannabinoids in their strains based on the conditions we create in our greenhouses and through crossbreeding. By crossbreeding different strains, we are able to do things like match two recessive genes for CBD and grow a plant that has more CBG cannabinoids. This growing technique will become more common as medical demand increases for more peripheral cannabinoids like CBG.
So what are the medicinal capabilities of some of these minor cannabinoids?
One of the first cannabinoids to be discovered happens to also be one of the most elusive ones. While it’s easy to find pretty much any balance of CBD strains that you want on the market now, CBN is much harder to get a hold of. CBN is rarely found over one percent. The low percentage can be explained by the flower needing to go through several specific stages both on the plant and off (to decarb it, age it, etc) in order to become CBN. But once it’s transformed, it has the potential to be an effective sleep aid but more research is required in that area. CBN is also being studied as an anti-bacterial for MRSA, burns, and psoriasis, but again more research is needed to fully explore all the capabilities and opportunities to apply CBN, both alone and in collaboration with other cannabinoids.
This is the granddaddy of cannabinoids. It’s the starting point compound for CBD, and CBC and it can act as an inhibitor of cancer cells but also stimulate appetite and bone growth. Additionally, this cannabinoid has anti-seizure, sedative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers believe CBG shows real promise as a medicinal cannabinoid. More studies suggest that it might help with bladder dysfunction and inflammatory bowel disease while it could also act as an antibacterial for skin infections. More impressively, it can act as a cancer cell blocker and a nerve cell protector in Huntington’s and it can significantly reduce intraocular eye pressure caused by glaucoma.
CBC is not a psychoactive cannabinoid because it doesn’t bind to CB1 receptors in the brain. However, it does bind with other receptors that have links with the perception of pain. While it’s a fairly anonymous cannabinoid the medical community still has high hopes for its therapeutic potential due to its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Research suggests that CBC can help with migraines, pain and inflammation from osteoarthritis. It also has the potential to help treat depression, neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and acne. There is even evidence to suggest that CBC is a promising suppressant of cancer cell growth. Human tests have shown that anandamide (a naturally-occurring endocannabinoid in the body) helps to battle breast cancer, and CBC can keep anandamide in the bloodstream for longer, thus producing more beneficial cancer-fighting effects. CBC may be a very minor and barely-present cannabinoid in most plants but it’s synergistic effects with other cannabinoids are very exciting, for the medical community and for humanity.
The Future of Minor Cannabinoids
Research into minor cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, and CBC is ongoing but it’s still too early to predict their role in medicine moving forward. Their effects — both isolated and synergistically, need to be further explored by the scientific community. What we have seen so far is promising, these minor cannabinoids can inhibit cancer, promote sleep, treat skin and gut issues, limit seizures and inflammation and more. If the research process speeds up, not just with cannabinoids but with terpenes and flavonoids also, then perhaps modern medicine will move closer to stemming epidemics and numerous diseases.