Cannabigerol


Cannabigerol is one of more than 120 identified cannabinoid compounds found in the plant genus Cannabis. Cannabigerol is the non-acidic form of cannabigerolic acid, the parent molecule from which other cannabinoids are synthesized. Cannabigerol is a minor constituent of cannabis. During plant growth, most of the cannabigerol is converted into other cannabinoids, primarily tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabidiol, leaving about 1% cannabigerol in the plant.

Biosynthesis

The biosynthesis of cannabigerol begins by loading hexanoyl-CoA onto a polyketide synthase assembly protein and subsequent condensation with three molecules of malonyl-CoA. This polyketide is cyclized to olivetolic acid via olivetolic acid cyclase, and then prenylated with a ten carbon isoprenoid precursor, geranyl pyrophosphate, using an aromatic prenyltransferase enzyme, geranyl-pyrophosphate—olivetolic acid geranyltransferase, to biosynthesize cannabigerolic acid, which can then be decarboxylated to yield cannabigerol.

Research

, no clinical research has been conducted to test the specific effects of cannabigerol in humans.
Cannabigerol is under laboratory research to determine its pharmacological properties and potential effects in disease conditions. Contrary to the major psychoactive cannabinoid THC, cannabigerol antagonizes CB1 receptors and is both an alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist and moderate 5HT1A receptor antagonist. Cannabigerol displays CB1 and CB2 binding affinity, and has been evaluated in laboratory models of colitis.

Legal status

Cannabigerol is not scheduled by the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In the United States, it is not a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act as long as it is not produced from the controlled parts of the cannabis plant.