Hydrolife Magazine December/January 2017 (USA Edition)

Often ignored, CBG is the
precursor for the cannabinolic
compounds. In the trichome, it is
rapidly chemically transformed into
THC, CBD, and CBC. However, once
this precursor compound is created
and moved into the secretory reservoir
of the trichome, it is never found in
high concentrations in the finished
weed, yet this critical precursor has
medical applications for treating
glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and
skin disease. It is rarely found in the
finished sativa or indica cannabis
plants, but it is found in high amounts
in certain strains of industrial hemp
that carry a genetic mutation, which
down regulates the production of CBD,
thereby encouraging the accumulation
of CBG. Down regulation is a genetic
issue and specifically the lack of the
production of proteins.
The primary compound formed in
the trichomes is cannabingerolic
acid (CBGA). In molecular variations
determined by the various
concentrations of terpenes, it creates
the fragrance of weed. As can be
seen in a chemical analysis of ACDC
and Harlequin, the amounts of final
cannabinolic compounds are determined
by the amounts of the specific terpenes
created by the genetics of the plant
in the plasatidic pathways of the disc
cells in the trichomes. For instance,
alpha-pinene in Harlequin is higher
than in ACDC and the THCV level is
higher as well. D-lemonene is higher
in Harlequin, as are the CBC levels.
Linaloo is higher in ACDC and so is the
CBN content compared to Harlequin.
Low alpha-pinene relates to high CBD,
low d-lemonene relates to high CBD,
and beta-mycrene is mapped to the
residual amount of CBG, albeit in
very low amounts but still in the
final product. This is pretty good
evidence that the fragrance of
weed—the terpene esters—
are scent guides we can
all use to identify strains
for medical applications
of cannabis. Smell the
weed in the jars at your
dispensary before
buying, folks—it
does a body good!
So, how does this all
work? How is this complex
chemistry achieved in the
trichomes? In an earlier
article, I presented a study
conducted from Spain that
proved the production of THC is
manganese-dependent while the
production of CBD is iron-dependent.
That study didn’t delve deep enough
into the molecular requirements of
mineral substrates to fully describe
how these compounds are mineraldependent.
The process begins with
light, heat, or both.
Under the influence of prolonged
UVB during the maturity of the
trichomes from clear to milky, CBGA
will lose a carbon dioxide molecule.
Once this occurs, the plant’s natural
enzymes (synthases) break CBG
down. One well-known direction
employs CBD synthase to transform
CBGA into CBDA, which loses a
carbon dioxide molecule to become
CBD in the trichomes. When any of
the cannabinoid acids—CBCA, THCA,
and CBDA—are heated (smoked or
exposed to UVB), they break down
into the neutral forms: CBC, THC,
and CBD, and at any given time a
trichome is filled with a mixture of all
these acids and neutral forms.
An article in the Journal of Biological
Chemistry from 1996 described an
experiment that performed a biochemical
analysis of an oxidoreductase,
an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidocyclization
of cannabigerolic acid to
cannabidiolic acid—CBGA to CBDA.
In biochemistry, an oxidoreductase is
an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer
of electrons from one molecule, the
reductant, also called the electron donor,
to another, the oxidant, also called
the electron acceptor. These electron
transfers are necessary to transform
the shape and attraction forces of
atoms of the molecules involved to
change shape, remove parts, and
transform into new molecules.
Cannabinoids are plantsecondary
metabolites possessing
alkylresorcinol (typically olivetol
or olivetolic acid) and monoterpene
groups in their molecules. This means
“
The primary
compound formed in the
trichomes is cannabingerolic
acid. In molecular variations
determined by the various
concentrations of terpenes.”
that the phenols (olivetolic acid) that
combine with terpenes (such as in the
case of CBG—geranyl pyrophosphate
[GPP]). These secondary metabolites
then change under the influence
of heat or UVB in the trichome
secretory reservoir when a carbon
dioxide molecule is released. That’s
why cannabis grown in the sun is
typically higher potency than weed
grown indoors unless the growroom
has UVB light frequencies provided
during the bloom phase. The heat
and light causes this breakdown
process to proceed. What the authors
verified was that CBDA synthase is
an oxidoreductase that catalyzes the
cyclization of the monoterpene moiety
(the lesser part) in CBGA.
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