What is Cannabichromene (CBC)?
What is CBC (Cannabichromene) and is it Good for You? from CannabisNet on Vimeo.
Cannabichromene (CBC) is another important cannabinoid found in cannabis. While there is little still known about this humble cannabinoid, studies have shown that CBC also has valuable medicinal properties.
CBC is similar to THC and CBD in the sense that it’s produced through an enzymatic process from its precursor, cananbigerol (CBG). CBC has the same molecular makeup as THC and CBD too. However, CBC doesn’t have any psychoactive properties.
A 1975 study showed that CBD was the second most abundant cannabinoid in the samples of cannabis that the researchers tested. In fact, some strains even contained as much as 64% CBC in the overall cannabinoid profile, although this study involved landrace strains that were famous at the time. Today’s commercial and indoor varieties are typically grown for high THC content, so it’s rare to find strains that have higher amounts of CBC today. CBC is more abundant in cannabis strains that are grown in tropical climates.
Medicinal Properties
Inflammation
Most chronic diseases today are caused by inflammation. This is why any natural source of anti-inflammatory compounds is extremely valuable medicine and can provide a wealth of health benefits. CBC is rich in anti-inflammatory properties, just like its siblings THC and CBD. In 2010, a study showed that CBC was effective in fighting inflammation although the results showed that it’s inflammation-fighting benefits were even more potent when it was combined with THC.
Treats Stress
CBC is a promising cannabinoid in treating stress. A study conducted by the University of Mississippi revealed that mice who were treated with CBC were more resistant to stress. This is important information because stress often leads to many other illnesses and can even end up in depression. Stress also causes inflammation, and inflammation leads to disease. Stress is a killer, and CBC has now shown promise in being a natural alternative to treating stress and preventing depression.
Pain Relief
CBC has also shown to be promising in providing pain relief. A 2011 study showed that CBC and CBD worked together in efficiently stimulating pain-relieving processes in the animal subjects. Research studies done back in the 80’s also revealed that CBD worked together with THC for strong analgesis effects. CBC already has analgesic properties although it works best with THC; more proof of how the entourage effect works.
Enhances THC
It’s believed that the pain-killing properties of CBC is actually obtained from its ability to increase the pain-killing properties of THC, rather than the ability of CBC to do so independently.
Neurogenesis
In a 2013 study, the researchers found that CBC stimulates neurogenesis, or the growth of brain cells. The scientists studies the impact of CBC on adult mouse neural stem progenitor cells outside the body. The results showed that CBC was critical in improving the cells’ viability, which shows that cannabinoids were effective in making them function better. Any research that again shows the brain-protecting properties of cannabis is always exciting news because for many years we were lead to think that our brains stopped growing once we reached a certain age. This is valuable medical knowledge especially for patients of memory loss and dementia.
Anti-Anxiety
CBC has been shown to be ten times more powerful than CBD in reducing stress and anxiety. Anxiety affects millions of people around the world, and can sometimes be so debilitating that it’s difficult to live a normal life if you are anxiety-ridden.
Antibacterial and Antifungal
Another study from the 80’s showed that CBC possesses valuable antibacterial properties. The study revealed that CBC was beneficial in stopping both coli and staph infections. This is supported by another study showing that CBC as well as other cannabinoids were more effective than the medicine Vancomycin in fighting staph infection.
Intestinal Motility
In a 2012 animal study, CBC proved to be beneficial in normalizing gastrointestinal hypermotility (also known as diarrhea) without decreasing bowel transit time. This is important medicinally because most pharmaceutical medications that are designed to treat diarrhea actually may cause constipation in some cases due to the greatly reduced transit time. This is why CBC can actually be significant in the development of diarrhea medications as well as other inflammatory bowel disorders.
Thanks to advancements in testing, more dispensaries can provide information on the cannabinoid profile of various strains so patients can have easier access to those with more CBC than usual.
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