So what’s different about CBD-A
There’s a good chance that in your quest for CBD answers and information, you’ve come across CBD-A. So what’s this cannabinoid you keep seeing and what does it do? Is it the newest breakthrough in research of the captivating cannabis plant? Not exactly. CBD-A, cannabidiolic acid, is the acidic precursor to CBD. It’s essentially the unheated CBD compound in raw cannabis flowers (which consequently contain very little CBD prior to dexarboxylation).
Heating cannabis
Decarboxylation is the magic behind making cannabis a potent additive to food. Simply put, it’s a chemical reaction achieved through heating up raw cannabis to a temperature at which it releases a carboxyl group, in some cases becoming psychoactive. THC-A, for example, is converted to the psychoactive THC compound during this process alongside CBDA converting to CBD.
CBD-A has its own identity
Although CBDA is primarily seen as inactive and therefore ancillary to CBD, it may have some interesting potential in its own right. Like CBD and other cannabinoids, CBDA is believed to sustain anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory traits, among others.
Researchers in 2013 noted that CBDA displayed significantly greater potency at inhibiting nausea and was at least as proficient an anti-inflammatory as CBD in the animal subjects tested.
Our latest supplier Circle Labs is so keen on CBDA that they have a both CBD and CBDA oils available, made possible due to their unique extraction technique that involves very gentle heating (dexarboxylation) as mentioned above. This ensures the same volume of cannabinoids arrive in the oil as would be found in the original flower.
Understanding cannabinoid compounds
Still, it hasn’t enjoyed a modicum of the attention from the scientific community that CBD has. But despite the shortcomings in research, CBDA does display distinct qualities that make it a compelling subject. As more cannabinoids come to light, it’s crucial to distinguish each one’s individual traits, as well as how they all interact as a whole chemical phytocomplex. The full extent of understanding of the “entourage effect” is indeed in its infancy. We’ll tell you more about that in our next post…stay tuned!
