What Is CBDa? What Is The Difference Between CBDa and CBD?

"CTFO has just introduced 10xPURE GOLD Super 1000 with CBDa.  It is a specifically formulated blend of full spectrum and isolate oils.  This powerful product delivers 1,000 mg of super-charged oil that is enriched with CBDa."  CBDa?  What is CBDa? 

We have all heard about CBD (Cannabidiol), and it's tremendous therapeutic properties.  Studies have shown that this cannabinoid can have a significant positive impact on many functions of the human body, including metabolism, mood, appetite, sleep, pain tolerance, inflammation and more.  Very little is known about CBDa, even though it was first isolated in the 1950's.  Like most other minor cannabinoids, not a whole lot happened with it for several decades.  Even as CBD research started to take off in the 1990's and 2000's, CBDa lagged behind.

In the last few years, research on CBDa has started to pick up.  CBDa works in the same way as CBD, but has several important advantages.  No human clinical trials have started yet, but I'm sure there will be some in the very near future.

What Is CBDa?          

CBDa (Cannabidiolic Acid) is the precursor to CBD.  It is a chemical compound found in raw cannabis plants.  In this case, raw means unheated and uncured.  Raw cannabis is the flower and the leaves that come from the plant.  When the cannabis plant is aged and heated, the cannabidiolic acid breaks down into CBD.  The process of converting CBDa to CBD is called decarboxylation.  With heat and time, the acid group of the molecule degrades and what is left is referred to as "activated" CBD.   This is the same way that THC is processed.  THCa is converted to THC.

Differences Between CBDa and CBD

The chemical formulas for CBD and CBDa are C21H30O2 and C22H30O4, respectively.  CBD has a more simple chemical composition because of the absence of a carboxylic acid group that is removed during decarboxylation.  The removal of the carboxyl group turns the inactive components in CBDa into active ones, unlocking additional therapeutic properties. 

CBD and CBDa both have a positive impact on the endocannabinoid system (ECS).  While they do not interact directly with the main receptors of the ECS, they can both activate and inhibit other receptors to keep the body healthy.  The main difference between CBD and CBDa is the way they influence the types of receptors.

• CBD reacts with adenosine, serotonin and vanilloid receptors to help control pain, inflammation, depression, sleep, appetite and other conditions.
• CBD also hinders the CPR55 receptor to improve bone density, blood pressure and cancer-fighting abilities.
• CBDa works by blocking the activities of receptors that cause inflammation, such as COX-1 and COX-2.  By doing this, CBDa can reduce seizures, inflammation and symptoms of disease.

Research shows that CBD and CBDa delivers the best results when they work together.  This holds true if a health disorder results from the improper regulation of different systems in the body.  Furthermore, studies have shown that CBDa can enhance the potency of CBD, which allows user to take smaller doses while retaining the same levels of effectiveness.

Health Benefits of CBDa

Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on CBDa.  However, preliminary laboratory research suggests that CBDa may help in four therapeutic areas.

Inflammation

Laboratory research done on cell cultures has discovered that CBDa has possible anti-inflammatory properties.  An experiment performed in 2008 had found that CBDa is a COX-2 inhibitor.  COX-2 is an enzyme that plays a role in the development of inflammatory compounds called prostaglandins.  NSAIDS, like aspirin and ibuprofen, were created to target this enzyme in order to reduce inflammation.  Inflammation is a natural reaction to injury, stress and illness.  However, chronic inflammation can be harmful to our health and way of life.  A good example of chronic inflammation is arthritis.  Scientists found that CBDa not only blocks this enzyme from helping to produce inflammatory compounds, but it does it better than THC. 

Nausea and Vomiting 

Kind of feeling sick to your stomach?  A 2012 study examined the anti-nausea and vomiting effect of CBDa in rats and shrews.  CBDa appeared to activate a special type of receptor in the rodent's brainstem.  The receptor is called the 5-HT1A receptor.  This is a serotonin receptor that is found in humans and animals.  Along with its role in depression, serotonin may have a key part in nausea and vomiting.  The research showed an increase in activity of this cell receptor when CBDa was given to the rodents.  This may be the reason why CBDa was effective at stopping nausea and vomiting in the shrews and rats.  In fact, the study found that CBDa was more effective than activated CBD for easing these symptoms.

Anti-Cancer

In 2012, a study found that CBDa was effective at inhibiting the growth of an aggressive form of breast cancer.  Even though experiments were conducted in a petri dish, CBDa showed some positive effects on this highly invasive cancer.  Repeated experiments in animals and cell lines, found this acid prevented the migration of cancer cells.  In theory, a therapy that stops cancer cell migration would prevent the disease from spreading to the rest of the body.  Another cell line study in 2014 showed similar anti-cancer potential.  CBDa seemed to repress genes associated with metastasis.  Metastasis or cell migration is responsible for 90% of breast cancer deaths.  Besides breast cancer, CBDa has shown anti-inflammatory effects toward other types of cancer.  A Swedish study in 2011 evaluated six different cannabinoids along with their acid forms.  All six of these components together provided a strong effect on the inflammatory processes in laboratory colon cancer cell lines.  Through the interference of the inflammatory process, the cannabinoids were able to inhibit cancer cell proliferation.  These are good signs that more research is greatly needed.

Anxiety and Psychotic Disorders               

Research has shown that CBD to be a promising treatment for anxiety and depression, but what about CBDa?  Like CBD, CBDa triggers the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor, which controls the feelings of anxiety and depression.  In a study conducted on rats, research showed that CBDa produced antidepressant effects at doses 10 to 100 times smaller than CBD.  Though there has not been any high quality studies on CBDa for the treatment of anxiety and psychotic disorders, GW Pharmaceuticals does have a patent on CBDa, along with other cannabinoids, as an adjunct treatment for psychotic disorders.  What this means is that there is a enough preclinical evidence to warrant more research on CBDa and other cannabinoids.

The existing research on the medical benefits of CBDa, especially when it comes to inflammation and cancer, leaves great hope for this cannabinoid along with the many other cannabinoids.  Hopefully, with more research on the whole cannabis plant, a better understanding of all cannabinoids will shape our use for medical cannabis in the future.