What Exactly Is CBG?
CBG (cannabigerol) is a non-acidic cannabinoid produced when heat is applied to the CBGA (cannabigerolic acid) molecule. Its close chemical relatives are THC, CBD, and CBC.
CBG is found mainly in hemp products, and strains bred for high THC usually contain very low amounts of CBG (less than 1%). High CBD strains, on the other hand, contain much higher concentrations of this essential cannabinoid. Will CBG Get You High?
No, CBG will not get you high. CBG is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid much like CBD. In fact, in brain-chemistry terms, CBG is what’s known as an antagonist because it interferes with the trippy high created by THC. That’s not a bad thing.
In fact, it underscores the danger of producing strong weed strains with ultra-high THC concentrations because, without CBG, it’s entirely possible to go from buzzed to bad trip in just one drag.
What Are The Benefits Of CBG?
The benefits that CBG has to offer are closely tied to what it does in the human body. In the right dose, CBG acts as an:
Analgesic (relieves pain).
Antibacterial (slows bacteria growth).
Anti-convulsive (reduces seizures and convulsions).
Anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation).
Anti-insomnia (aids sleep).
Anti-proliferative (inhibits cancer cell growth).
Antidepressant (raises mood).
Bone stimulant (promotes bone growth).
Brain cell stimulant (promotes neuron growth).
Appetite stimulant (increases appetite).
As you can see, CBG has the potential to make many sick people well again.
What Disorders Can CBG Treat?
Because of its long list of benefits, CBG can be used to treat:
Glaucoma.
Inflammatory bowel disease.
Anti-inflammatory disorders.
Epilepsy.
Chronic pain.
Depression.
Osteoporosis.
Insomnia.
Huntington’s disease. Cancer.
Methicillin-resistant microbial strains such as MRSA.
Low appetite (resulting from chemotherapy and other treatments).
Bladder dysfunction. Psoriasis.
Research into CBG is still ongoing, so this list will likely grow longer in the future.
Does CBG Have Any Side Effects?
CBG does not have any side effects when taken in therapeutic doses. The key words there are “therapeutic doses.” You can experience negative side effects if you consume too much of any substance…even water.
So you can see that there’s a huge difference between a “therapeutic dose” and one that would cause side effects.
That’s why we can effectively say that CBG has no side effects.
Below are some other links to information we found about the science of CBG and the Health Benefits of plants.
CBG Oil is a product that’s made by extracting CBG from the cannabis plant. Similar to CBD oil, it reacts with cannabinoid receptors in the brain. While it hasn’t been studied in any clinical trials (yet), preliminary studies have shown that it may be a promising treatment for many conditions. If anything, the most important thing is to choose the right product. After all, they’re not all the same.
Given that, you might want to read up on some of the best CBG oils.
Potential Health Benefits of CBG Oil
What can CBG oil do for your health? Here are a few medical conditions that you can use it for.
Glaucoma CBG oil may be an effective treatment for glaucoma—that is, it can help relieve intraocular pressure. This isn’t surprising given that there are many endocannabinoid receptors in the eyes.
That doesn’t mean that you should stop taking your glaucoma medication, however. In fact, you should always consult with your doctor first before taking CBG oil.
Bacterial Infections
CBG oil has antibacterial properties. More specifically, it prevents bacteria from forming biofilms. How? By targeting their cell membrane.
In fact, studies have shown that it’s capable of killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus aka MRSA. Given that, it’s not surprising to know that topical formulations are often used for skin infections.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term that describes two conditions—ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. As it is, CBG oil has been shown to be effective at reducing inflammation associated with both diseases.
In doing so, an individual will experience less cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain.
Huntington’s Disease
The use of CBG oil may help those with Huntington’s disease. It does this by normalizing the expression of abnormal genes that are associated with brain degeneration.
Considering that, it may also be effective at treating other neurodegenerative conditions.
Understanding CBG Oil now you can answer the question, “what is CBG oil.” As you can see, it has many potential health benefits. If anything, you just want to make sure to use it properly! CBGA: The Origin of Many Cannabinoids To understand CBG’s full importance, you’d have to go back even further in the life of a cannabis plant. Without CBGA, none of the “big six” most widely-researched cannabinoids – THC, CBD, CBC, CBN, THCV, or CBG – would exist.
All of these cannabinoids start out as CBGA before they’re transformed by enzymes within the marijuana plant’s trichomes. As this reaction occurs, the CBGA synthesizes into THCA, CBDA, CBCA, and so on. During a typical flowering cycle, this process usually takes six to eight weeks.
There’s only so much CBGA in a plant, so if large amounts of it synthesize into THCA, this leaves a smaller amount to transform into other cannabinoids (or continue on as CBGA). This is why most marijuana strains are high in THC, but relatively low in all the other cannabinoids.
This process has earned CBG – or more accurately, CBGA – the nickname of “the Mother of All Cannabinoids.”
Because CBG is present in such low concentrations in marijuana, it would be impossible for someone to smoke a particular strain and feel any specific effect that they could directly contribute to CBG. By isolating CBG and studying it on its own, however, scientists have been able to determine certain factors about how CBG affects people.
Non-intoxicating: It’s clear that CBG is non-intoxicating, similar to CBD. This can be confusing to people researching the benefits of CBG vs CBD, but the two cannabinoids bind with completely different receptors and work in entirely different ways.
Inhibits the high of THC: When THC creates an intoxicating high, it does so by binding with the CB1 receptors in the brain. CBG reduces the high created by THC by inhibiting the CB1 receptor, preventing THC from stimulating it as strongly.
Studies Show….
CBG at a dose of 10 mg/kg. In the case of 3NP-lesioned mice, the treatments were prolonged for 4 days before the animals were euthanized and their brains collected for further analysis. In the case of R6/2 mice, treatments began at 4 weeks and were prolonged up to 10 weeks after birth, the age at which animals were also euthanized and their brains collected for further analysis. The progression of neurological deficits (e.g., failed rotarod performance, altered locomotor activity, clasping, dystonia) was recorded before (only in R6/2 mice) and/or during (in both experiments) the treatment period, whereas for the extent of the striatal damage, the brains were analyzed using different histological parameters [e.g., Nissl staining; NeuN or dopamine- and cyclic adenosine monophosphate-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr 32 kDA (DARPP-32) immunostaining; reactive microgliosis determined with Iba-1 immunohistochemistry; astrogliosis labelled with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunostaining], and the expression of various biochemical markers related to the endocannabinoid signaling system [e.g., CB1 and CB2, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) enzymes] or that have been found previously to be altered in different HD models [e.g., the neurotrophins brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), the glutamate transporters GLT-1 and glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST), DARPP-32, some antioxidant enzymes, and proinflammatory enzymes and cytokines] [2, 8–10, 14, 23]. The striatal samples from both experiments were also analyzed with a specific HD polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array system. We performed an additional experiment conducted with CBG in striatal progenitor cell lines STHdhQ7/Q7 and STHdhQ111/Q111 expressing endogenous wild-type and mutant huntingtin, respectively, which was aimed at determining the effects of this phytocannabinoid on PPARγ receptors (see Supplementary Information).
The Medical Benefits of CBG
CBG’s ability to counteract the psychotropic effects of THC, in addition to the way it works when used by itself, make it a potentially promising treatment for a wide variety of medical disorders.
Anxiety and Depression
As discussed above, CBG acts as a CB1 antagonist, helping prevent some of the high (and associated anxiety) created by THC. It may also boost levels of anandamide, a natural “bliss molecule” found in the brain that regulates things such as appetite, sleep, and mood. It’s likely that CBG helps block serotonin receptors, making it a potentially useful antidepressant. CBG also works as a GABA uptake inhibitor, meaning that it may help reduce anxiety and relax muscle tension.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to reflect the specific views of the publication.