MOLECULE

Cannabichromene

Cannabichromene, also known as CBC, belongs to the class of organic compounds known as 1-benzopyrans. These are organic aromatic compounds that include a 1-benzopyran moiety, a bicyclic compound made up of a benzene ring fused to a pyran ring, so that the oxygen atom is at the 1-position. Cannabichromene is a neutral compound. Cannabichromene (CBC), also called cannabichrome, cannanbichromene, pentylcannabichromene or cannabinochromene, is one of the hundreds of cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant and is therefore a phytocannabinoid. It bears structural similarity to other natural cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN), among others. CBC is a product of the decarboxylation of cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), which occurs over time or after reaching temperatures above 90 °C. CBCA is a product of the cyclization of the main cannabinoid precursor, cannabigerolic acid (CBGA). CBC and its derivatives are as abundant as cannabinols in cannabis. CBC is not scheduled by the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. CBC has shown interesting anti-inflammatory activities in pre-clinical trials (PMID: 20619971). CBC is non-psychoactive and does not affect the psychoactivity of THC (PMID: 16148455). CBC acts on the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) and transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) receptors, interfering with their ability to break down endocannabinoids (the bodies endogenous cannabinoids, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, 2-AG, the endogenous agonist for the cannabinoid-1 receptor, CB1 and primary ligand for cannabinoid-2 receptor, CB2).