Enecta Funds New Research into Methods of Cannabinoid Detection

As a healthcare company,  we pride ourselves on discovering the benefits that CBD products can have on the health of humans and animals.

For this reason, we've funded some scientific research into the new methods of cannabinoid detection. 

By funding new studies and encouraging scientific breakthroughs in CBD research, we hope to help scientists discover exciting advances that will help to understand the multitude of benefits that CBD and other cannabinoids can have on our health and wellbeing.

What are Cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a range of naturally occurring compounds that can be found in the cannabis plants. Although there are over 480 compounds present in the cannabis plants, only 66 of them are termed cannabinoids.

One of the most well-known of these compounds is THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant.

Cannabidiol, or CBD,  is another essential compound, this makes up around 40% of the plant resin extract

Effects of cannabinoids

Cannabinoids produce their effects when they interact with specific cannabinoid receptors that are present on the surface of cells.

These receptors can be found across different parts of the central nervous system full stop the two main types of cannabinoid receptors that can be found in the human body or called CB1 and CB2.

Back in 1992, Anandamide was discovered, this naturally occurring substance binds to CB1 within the brain. Cannabinoid like chemicals such as Anandamide and others are referred to as endocannabinoids.

What is the Endocannabinoid System?

Endocannabinoids

Endocannabinoids are molecules that can bind to and activate cannabinoid receptors.

The two major endocannabinoids are called Anandamide and 2-AG. These endocannabinoids are made from molecules within cell membranes and are created on-demand. This means that they are made and used exactly when they're needed, rather than stored for later use like many other biological molecules.

In Which Way Do Plant Cannabinoids Like THC and CBD Interact with the Endocannabinoid System?

the main reason plants cannabinoids have medicinal and psychoactive effects within the human body is, mainly, because of our endocannabinoid system (ECS).

CBD is attractive because it can have an overall effect of levels of endocannabinoids in the brain. This is referred to as 'endocannabinoid tone.'

Appreciating the biological principle of homeostasis, and how the ECS illustrates this at a cellular level, we start to understand why we have an endocannabinoid system to begin with, and how cannabis-based therapies might work. 

The critical function of the ECS across many systems of the body, including the immune and nervous systems, explains why such a wide variety of disease states are very responsive to cannabis-based treatments.

For more information, and to view the study that Enecta funded, click here today.