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| Chinese emperor Shen Nung |
Words by Efraín Rodríguez
If we were to take a source for all available medicinal compounds in modern phamacopoeia we would find that around 70% of marketed compounds come from natural occurring chemicals. Before the scientific understanding of pharmaceutic properties of compounds, the cultural approach to medicine relied on experiential knowledge of useful flora.
The use of medicinal plants like cannabis sativa dates back 5000 years in Chinese pharmacopoeia! Ancient Eastern cultures used cannabis or what we now know to be terpenoids, which include phytocannabinoids like THC and CBD to treat different maladies ranging from pain, insomnia to gastrointestinal problems. In other words, mother nature does its thing in producing medicine for aiding common maladies.
Phytocannabinoids are just another example of how the organismal enzymatic machinery serves as the best provider of medicine. As any pharmacologic treatment, there is a vital relationship between the chemical structure of a compound and its interaction with endogenous systems in the body. This is an overarching story of phytocannabinoids' production, and how their structural and chemical relationships with the body's endogenous cannabinoid system enables their benefits.
Your body possesses an endogenous lipid signaling system that has important functions in maintaining homeostasis. Treatment of this system with cannabinoids has been proven to be beneficial as palliative alternative therapy in various debilitating conditions. The ECS is composed of endogenously produced endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors. Both phytocannabinoids (THC and many others) and endocannabinoids (Anandamide and 2-AG) are lipid molecules that provide relief for different conditions by inserting themselves into receptors in the brain cells (neurons) and many others thought different tissues. The formal term for this reception of cannabinoid molecules is binding affinity, referring to chemical interactions. There are among 400 different compounds in the cannabis plant.
Leading researchers in cannabinoid science have proposed that the beneficial effects of cannabis appear with multiple components of the cannabis plant. They call it the entourage effect. It proposes that the combined effects of cannabinoids terpenes and other chemicals in the plant work together to produce an effect that is larger than the sum of its parts.
Wherever this is being read right now there is probably a cannabis plant growing not too far away. The cannabis plant grows optimally in mountainous terrane where terpenoids can absorb more ultra violet light. It posses a defense mechanisms for undersired invaders which are called trichomes. These are globular structures which cover the plant as a type of fur. They explode and release highly volatile and odorous substances called "monoterpenes" to repeal fungi, insects, etc.
These same trichomes posses the key enzymes to produce other "diterpenes" like THC and CBD from simple fatty acids. These molecules are biosynthesized with great efficiency and with the special property of amphipathicity, meaning they posses a polar hydrophilic "head" and non polar hydrophobic "tail". Hydrophilic means to love water, and hydro-phobic refers to the avoidance of it. This feature of their structure is vital for its reception in the brain and other tissues.
When the trichomes gain a white pearl color it means it is shredding time for cannabis growers. This is because at this moment the plant is at it's optimal maturation state, and it's trichomes contain maximum THC concentrations. However, if the plant is not cut during this period with sustained heat exposure the THC becomes oxidized and turns into cannabinol CBN, another diterpene.
The process after the plant is cut at its optimal freshness involves a visit to your local dispensary and a good talk with an experienced bud tender that is scientifically trained to orient you and aid you in learning about your possible endocannabinoid deficiencies. Medicinal cannabinoids can enter the body through different routes. One of the most common is vaporization of the cannabis flower. In this case, cannabinoids enter the lungs and diffuse into high capillarization to enter the blood stream.
Once in the blood, there is fast entry into the central nervous system by easily crossing into the blood brain barrier. Cannabinoid receptors in the brain are a surprising molecular mold with amphipathic properties called cavity. This cavity possesses polar and non polar portions. The cannabinoids, which have the same chemical properties as the receptor (high binding affinity), then occupy the cavity. The binding of the cannabinoid molecule alters the shape of the whole complex initiating a cascade of events inside the cell that may aid to restore your overall homeostasis depending on your particular illness.
Cannabinoid receptor structure in chocolate
As a type of love story, theres is "chemistry" between naturally occurring cannabinoids and the brain cells of your central nervous system. The incredibly enough complexity of the interaction between an organism and naturally occurring compounds like phytocannabinoids serves as example of the existential notion of unity in biological phenomena.
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