CBD is now a well-known cannabiniod whose popularity is skyrocketing as it offers a wide range of health benefits. It is a non-toxic ingredient that is present in all common cannabis strains and is isolated to be used in a wide range of products, from oils to balms, edibles, etc. However, another cannabionoid that has very significant health benefits is also often mentioned on the market and that is CBG, or Cannabigerol. CBG has been found to reduce inflammation and fight pain, similar to CBD. However, it can also, for example, slow down the multiplication of cancer cells. CBD and CBG may sound similar to you, so let’s describe their main differences.
What is CBG?
Products that may be of interest to you
CBG is essentially the first cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. As the cannabis plant matures, CBGA, the acidic form of CBG, is converted by plant enzymes into a specific ratio of the three main cannabinoid precursors: tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiol acid (CBDA) and cannabichromenic acid (CBCA);
From the amount of CBGA that is not converted to these precursors, or from any other minor cannabinoid, CBG is formed by decarboxylation. Because of this process, cannabis strains usually contain very little CBG, often less than 1 per cent by weight. To achieve higher yields of CBG in cannabis, plant breeders have begun experimenting with genetic manipulation and crossbreeding;
Advantages of CBG
Unlike CBD, which has a relatively low affinity for cannabinoid receptors and acts mostly through indirect interactions with the endocannabinoid system, CBG is thought to exert its therapeutic effects directly by interacting with the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 in the brain;
The psychoactive cannabinoid THC also produces its psychoactive effects through interactions with these receptors. CBG has been observed to act as a buffer to the psychoactivity of THC and may even alleviate the feelings of paranoia that sometimes come with consuming high levels of THC;
Research on CBG is still very limited and more studies are needed to confirm its benefits. In terms of the therapeutic benefits of CBG, there are early studies linking the compound to a variety of potential therapeutic uses, such as:
- Treatment of glaucoma
- Reducing inflammation
- The fight against Huntington’s disease
- Inhibition of tumor growth
- Killing drug-resistant bacteria
Difficulty in the production of CBG
Why doesn’t CBG have the same popularity as CBD when it has so many benefits and a huge number of therapeutic uses? The biggest stumbling block to implementing CBG as a mainstream therapeutic treatment is the cost of producing it. CBG is considered one of the most expensive cannabinoids to produce.
CEO of Colorado’s CBG brand Steve’s Goods states, “It takes thousands of pounds of biomass to create a small amount of CBG isolate. This is because most hemp contains only a tiny percentage of CBG, while there are now strains of hemp that contain 20 percent CBD in the crop. If the CBG content in the same crop is only 1 percent, that means you have to extract 20 times the amount of biomass to get the same amount of CBG.”
CBG also poses a problem for growers. The longer the cannabis plant matures, the greater the chance that the CBGA and CBG present in the strain will be converted to other cannabinoids. This leaves growers with a choice: either they grow cannabis with the express purpose of producing CBG, which means they must harvest the crop before this conversion is complete; or they allow the crop to fully mature so that part of the crop can be sold for other uses, but the rest will have a lower CBG content for extraction;
In addition to the requirement for larger quantities of plant material compared to THC or CBD extraction, CBG extraction also requires the use of specialised production equipment. Due to the low levels of CBG present in the cannabis strains, the chromatographic equipment used to isolate and purify CBG extracts must be as precise as possible to avoid using even more raw cannabis material than is absolutely necessary. The cost of this high-performance chromatographic equipment can be very high for processors;
