The Importance of the Endocannabinoid System
- Cat Rhodes
- Dec 7, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 16, 2019
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a complex cell-signaling system that maintains bodily homeostasis—biological harmony in response to changes in the environment. Taxonomic investigation revealed that the endocannabinoid system is incredibly old, having evolved over 500 million years ago. The ECS involves three core components: receptors, endo or phytocannabinoids, and enzymes. There are two main endocannabinoid receptors, Cannabinoid Receptor 1 (CB1-brain and central nervous system with a role in coordination, metabolism, and pain relief) and Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2-immune system with a protective role.) Receptors are present throughout the body, including our nervous system, brain, skin, immune cells, bone, fat tissue, liver, pancreas, skeletal muscle, heart, blood vessels, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. There are 111 different cannabinoid compounds currently known. For the purposes of brevity, I will focus on my four favorites.
Phytocannabinoid CBC, CBD, CBG and CBN are non-psychoactive cannabinoids with different chemical structures and effects on the body; all relieve pain. Cannabichromene (CBC) has a potent anti-inflammatory agent, assists with digestive and gastrointestinal disorders, possess antibacterial and antifungal efficacy, and could potentially contribute to the regeneration of brain cells.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a safe and effective way to reduce inflammation, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, depression and relieve stress. CBD is also extremely helpful for treating seizures in epileptic patients (the FDA recently approved the drug Epidiolex,) insomnia and has an anti-psychoactive effect.
Cannabigerol (CBG) has been shown to inhibit carcinogenesis by killing cancer cells and slowing tumor growth, help protect brain health and prevent cell degeneration. CBG has been shown to have antimicrobial, antifungal, antifungal and antibacterial properties. Staphylococcus aureus, a common bacteria strain that is resistant to antibiotics, is not resistant to CBG. Lastly, CBG shows pretty promising results in treating glaucoma, overactive bladder disorder,
and psoriasis.
Cannabinol (CBN) is produced when tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, is exposed to either heat or oxygen. CBN doesn’t bind like THC does, which results in the activation of both CB1 and CB2 receptors. With its active content in the cannabis plant being less than 1 percent, CBN is not the most abundant cannabinoid but it is best-known currently is bone regeneration: It causes the employment of mesenchymal stem cells that surround the bone marrow.
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