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Cannabigerol – CBG – New Miracle Medical Cannabis Compound?

Medical benefits of CBD
Written by Corre Addam

THC, CBN, CBD and now Cannabigerol (CBG). Do the letters ever end?…

While we don’t want to bog you down in a thick and seemingly never ending bowl of confusing alphabet soup, when it comes to cannabis compounds, when it comes down to it, it’s all about the letters. We already know that THC makes you high, that CBD is one of the most medicinal compounds in the cannabis plant. But now there’s a new kid on the block, and that’s Cannabigerol (CBG) – The parent molecule from which all other cannabinoids are being produced.

Effects Of Cannabigerol

While research is still a bit limited, what we know so far is that CBG works alongside other cannabinoids such as THC and CBD, and is thought to partially counteract the THC “heady” high which can lead some to paranoia.

Cannabigerol (CBG) has negligible activity at the CB1 receptor, but stimulates the CB2 receptor, therefore, CBG offers many of the same benefits of THC but without the psychoactive effects that are found when the CB1 receptor is stimulated.

CBG has greater GABA uptake inhibition than CBD or THC, suggesting that it can be used as a muscle relaxant in spasticity, as seen for example in muscular sclerosis, chronic low back pain, and sports injuries.

But there’s more…

Medicinal Uses Of CBG

Medical Benefits of Cannabigerol (CBG) - The Best Of Both Worlds

Medical Benefits of Cannabigerol (CBG) – The Best Of Both Worlds

Read our special report: The Medical Benefits of CBG: The best of both worlds written by Dr. Leah Zachar, CBD Testers’ scientific adviser 

A number of studies have been carried out demonstrating that CBG could treat a whole host of medical conditions including inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, glaucoma, and even certain types of cancer.

A study carried out in Italy, published back in May 2013 in the Biological Psychology publication, found that just like CBD, CBG has also strong anti-inflammatory properties and helped many patients.

Pain Reliever

CBG has been found to have better pain-relieving properties than THC and can be used for conditions such as Multiple sclerosis (MS) and pain caused by some forms of cancer, as well as many soft tissue conditions.

Inflammation Reducer

According to the research, CBG has the ability to reduce inflammation by targeting the specific molecules responsible for inflammation. This includes soft tissue tension and inflammation, as well as inflammation associated with bowel disease.

In a study published in August 2016, called ‘Phytocannabinoids for use in the treatment of intestinal inflammatory diseases‘ researchers found that CBG could help patients with various inflammation issues, as well as Colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Overactive Bladder

Bladder issues affect millions of people around the world. Could CBG, if used in the right quantities, help people with these issues? Mounting evidence is suggesting that the answer to that might be YES. In a 2015 study, researchers tested the effects of CBG on experimentally-induced bladder contractions. CBG and THCv were found to have the strongest ability for reducing bladder contractions, and the study was considered a success.

Glaucoma

It has long been suggested that Cannabis helps to relieve the severe eye pain associated with Glaucoma. A 1990 study, carried out by the Department of Ophthalmology, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, found that CBG, among other compounds, increased aqueous flow to help reduce intraocular pressure in the eye, as well as offering other relief.

Anxiety

Many people who suffer from anxiety, either general or specific, use a host of psychotropic drugs to be able to handle everyday life. But there’s good news; A study from 2016, carried out by Ethan B. Russo, suggests that CBG has a similar calming effect to THC but without the sometimes confusing high. As it is mainly non-psychoactive, CBG could be the future for treating anxiety.

Cancer

We saved the big one till last, as treating cancer has to be at the top of the list when it comes to Medical Cannabis research. While we already know from a bunch of research that Cannabis helps many cancer patients with cancer-related symptoms and pain. What role could CBG specifically play in curing certain types of cancer, if any?

According to sources cited by Wikipedia, CBG could be used in the treatment of cancers such as breast, liver, lung, pancreatic, skin, ovarian, renal, bladder and colon cancer but further studies should be conducted in order to support this information.

This is heavily supported by a number of studies, including a study from back in 1995, entitled, “Synthesis and antitumor activity of Cannabigerol” as well as this study from December 2015, called “Active pharmaceutical ingredient comprising cannabinoids for use in the treatment of cancer

There are numerous other noteworthy studies, which looked at a whole host of medical conditions, including cancer, and found that CBG along with other compounds, could be used to treat various conditions.

What The Experts Say

CannCenters Medical Director Bonni Goldstein M.D., said about CBG:

“IT INHIBITS GABA UPTAKE WHICH IS A NEUROTRANSMITTER IN YOUR BRAIN. WHEN GABA IS INHIBITED YOU ACTUALLY HAVE MUSCLE RELAXATION, AND YOU HAVE ANTI-ANXIETY EFFECTS. CBG APPEARS TO PROMOTE SIMILAR EFFECTS THAT CBD HAS. IT ALSO APPEARS TO HAVE ANTI-DEPRESSANT PROPERTIES.”

This jives well with the findings from SC Labs, who concur with CannCenters that CBG is similar to CBD in many ways, and perhaps even more effective for the treatment of various medical ills.

More Research

As with all Cannabis strains, more research is needed so that experts like the people at SC Labs can fully try and test herbs, in order to ascertain their suitability for specific medical conditions and pain relief.

While it’s no secret that the right strain of Cannabis helps countless people with pain relief, could CBG be the miracle compound that researchers have been waiting to discover? And for that matter, could it be the compound responsible for curing many different types of cancer?

With new research being carried out in America, and also in Israel, medical patients are looking forward to a bright future. Hopefully, one free of toxic chemical painkillers, and one full of natural, holistic and safe remedies.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25269802

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23415610

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22971837

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16728591

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26197538.

 

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2 Comments

  • Okay so like this article says that it is an ANTAGONIST to the Cb1 by BLOCKING GABA.

    Basics:Antagonist work against the receptors function, Agonists work with it.
    GABA – inhibitory. It helps with anxiety, insomnia. ADHD…

    GABA is anxiolytic…
    It’s fine if CBG is *also* anxiolytic but it’s super misleading when the article states that this mechanism is ONLY occurring because CBG is blocking GABA when in reality, it’s a substitute for the effects of GABA mitigated through a different pathway.

    How did nobody catch that before this article was published ?

    I couldn’t even keep reading after that because the article lost all credibility at that point

  • Thanks for your message. We have corrected the article, ad asked our scientific department to approve it. It is an old one, from when we didn’t used these content validation protocols… Thanks again.

About the author

Corre Addam

Addam spends the lion's share of his day fixated on his computer screen. When he isn't in front of his computer, you'll most likely find him editing or researching his next fascinating article on his smartphone or tablet. When he manages to pull himself away from technology, you'll find him chilling hard somewhere, probably under a tree with an ice-cold Iced-tea, pondering life...