Cannabigerol, or CBG is a cannabinoid you probably haven’t heard of, but it’s key to making up compounds such as THC and CBD, that you almost definitely have heard of.
CBG is the ‘stem cell’ for a lot of the important chemicals in cannabis and also has a number of effects of its own. There is a body of evidence to suggest that it has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects.
Cannabigerol also acts on our brain’s ability to uptake a chemical called GABA, inhibiting it.
“When GABA [uptake] is inhibited, you actually have muscle relaxation and you have anti-anxiety effects. It also appears to have antidepressant and some modest antifungal properties,” says Dr. Bonni Goldstein, Medical Director of Canna-Centers.
Earlier this year, researchers from Italy observed both of these properties in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease, concluding that “CBG may represent a new therapeutic opportunity” for patients with the disorder.
CBG won’t get you high, but it does lead there, How?
THC and CBD both started out as CBG (Say that three times fast).
CBG is rapidly converted to other cannabinoids by enzymes while the cannabis plant is growing.
So when you’re next having a toke, make sure you remember good old Cannabigerol, which gives us the building blocks for what makes marijuana great.