Cannbinoids

Cannabinoids are a class of diverse chemical compounds which activate receptors in the body called cannabinoid receptors. There are two types of cannabinoid receptors called cannabinoid receptor type 1 and cannabinoid receptor type 2 or CB1 and CB2. The discovery of the cannabinoid receptor was made in the 1980s. Before the discovery it was speculated that cannabinoids produced their effects by nonspecific interactions with cell membranes.
The receptors are commonly found in mammals, birds, fish and reptiles.
There are three types of cannabinoids: phytocannbinoids found in the cannabis plant, endocannabinoids which are produced naturally in the human body and synthetic cannabinoids which are created chemically by humans.

Types of Phytocannanbinoids

Tetrahydrocannabinol(THC)

Tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) is the most known cannabinoid and is the primary psychoactive component of the plant. It has  shown to be an analgesic as well as neuroprotective. It is one of the 85 different cannabinoids isolated from the Cannabis plant. THC has equal affinity to both CB1 and CB2 receptors.

Delta 8 and 9-tetrahydrocannabinol mimic the action of a naturally occurring neurotransmitter anandamide. These two THC's bind to the CB1 receptor in the brain producing the effects associated with cannabis.

Cannabidol(CBD)

Cannabidol is not pyschoactive and was not thought to affect the psychoactivity of THC, recent evidence supports that smokers of cannabis with greater amounts of CBD compared to THC decrease the risk of schizophrenia-like symptoms. CBD as little affinity for CB1 or CB2 receptors with a slightly greater affinity to CB2 than CB1. CBD acts as an indirect antagonist of cannabinoid agonists. CBD appears to relieve convulsions, nausea, anxiety and inflammation as well as help preventing short-term memory loss associated with THC in mammals.

Cannabinol (CBN) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found within the cannabis plant. CBN is a byproduct of THC. As the THC degrades CBN forms. It is mildly psychoactive with a higher affinity to CB2 than CB1.
Cannabinoids are naturally produced within the body called endocannabinoids. They activate the same cannabinoid receptors that cannabinoids do.
Types of Endocannabinoids.

Archidonoylethanolamine(Anandamide or AEA)
AEA was indentified in 1992 in Raphael Mechoulam's lab. Its name dervives from the Sanskirt word for bliss and -amide.AEA has a pharmacology similar to THC although its chemical makeup is different. AEA binds to the central CB1 recepetors and to the CB2 receptors where it as as an agonist. It is as potent as THC in theCB1 receptor.
2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG)
2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) is another endocannabinoid that binds to both CB1 and CB1 receptors with equal affinity. Both act as full agonist. 2-AG is present at higher concentrations than AEA in the brain.

N-arachidonoyl-dopamine (NADA)

N-arachidonoyl-dopamine or NADA was found in the year 2000. NADA preferentially binds to the CB1 receptor. It is similar to AEA as it is an agonist for the vanilloid receptor subtype 1(TRPV1) which is a member of the vanilloid receptor family.

Endocannabinoids act as intercellular 'lipid messengers', signaling molecules that are released from one cell and activating the cannabinoid receptors present on other nearby cells.
Laboratory synthesis of cannabinoids were based on the structure of herbal cannabinoids with newer compounds no longer being related to the natural cannabinoids or based on the structures of endogenous cannabinoids.

Types of Synthetic Cannabinoids

Dronabinol(Marinol)

One known type of synthetic cannabinoid is Dronabinol(Marinol). Its used as an appetite stimulant in people under going chemotherapy as well as nausea and vomiting, and anti emetic and an analgesic.  

JWH-018

JWH-018 is a chemical with analgesic properties. It was named after the John W. Huffman. JWH-018 is a cannabinoid agonist for CB1 and 2 receptors. JWH-018 comes from the family of naphthoylindoles. JWH-018 is brown,
lumpy and somewhat sticky in its raw state. Its effects are similar to THC.

Hu-210

Hu-210 was first synthesized in 1988 from 1R,5S-mytenol at Hebrew University. It is 100-800 times more potent than natural THC with an extended duration of action.Hu-210 promotes proliferation of cultured embryonic hippocampal neural stem and progenitor cells.Hu-210 has been implicated in preventing inflammation caused by amyloid beta proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease.




Grow Cannabis Indoors