Yo, what up world? It’s ya boy Dan coming at you with the latest news in the cannabis industry. Two new cannabinoids have just been discovered and let me tell you, they’re a game-changer. THC and CBD have been holding it down for a hot minute but now, we got THCP and CBDP in the mix. Let’s get into it.
So, these Italian scientists were trying to define the cannabinoid profile of a medical cannabis strain and they stumbled upon some new compounds. THCP or tetrahydrocannabiphorol and CBDP or cannabidiphorol are similar to THC and CBD respectively, but with slightly different chemical structures.
There are like 150 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant but not all of them have been isolated yet. These new discoveries could have some major implications for patients, consumers, and the cannabis industry as a whole. These compounds could play a role in the entourage effect of specific cannabis strains.
THCP is like THC but with a longer side chain. This stronger bond with mammalian CB1 receptors makes it over 30 times more potent in its binding affinity according to pharmacological tests on animals. In lab tests on rats, THCP induced hypomotility, analgesia, catalepsy, and decreased rectal temperature just like THC. But we still don’t know what this means for humans since it’s unclear whether different strains contain different amounts of THCP.
CBDP also has a longer “tail” than regular CBD but since CBD already has poor binding affinity with CB receptors to begin with, CBDP’s long tail might not increase this affinity. Future research will reveal if CBDP’s longer side chain could improve binding affinity to other receptors or play a significant role in the entourage effect.
Side chain length plays a crucial role in the binding affinity between cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system so cannabinoids like THCP might be therapeutically viable, potentially to an even greater degree than other, more popular cannabinoids. THCP and CBDP are particularly interesting because they’re the first cannabinoids discovered with “tails” longer than five links.
The discovery of these new cannabinoids highlights just how important it is to carry out comprehensive chemical profiling of medicinal cannabis strains and investigate the pharmacological activity of all minor cannabinoids. We might be looking at strains with high THCP levels or THCP-rich concentrates in the future.
But that’s not all folks! The discovery of THCP and CBDP actually came after the discovery of two other cannabinoids, Δ9-THCB (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabutol) and CBDB (cannabidibutol), which each have a side chain comprised of four carbon atoms instead of five like their THC and CBD counterparts. Just like THCP, THCB acts as a partial cannabinoid receptor agonist and produces beneficial effects in acute inflammatory pain models. We’re still waiting to see what CBDB can do since its molecular targets aren’t precisely known.
As scientists search for other “long tail” cannabinoids, we might just be on the cusp of characterizing the entire cannabinoid profile of a single cultivar. Genetic research and selective breeding have made higher concentrations of minor cannabinoids available in recent years, so we could be looking at some exciting product ranges in the future.
That’s all for now folks. Stay tuned for more updates on the cannabis industry from your boy Dan. Peace out.