MOLECULE

Cannabielsoin

Cannabielsoin (CBE) is a phytocannabinoid and a part of the 120 cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis plants (PMID: 6991645). Cannabielsoin is a molecule of mixed biosynthetic origin, in which its aromatic moiety (derived from olivetolic acid) occurs through the polyketide biosynthetic pathway while the prenylated sidechain derives from the MEP pathway of the terpenoids (DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-800756-3.00002-8). Thus, cannabielsoin can be considered a polyketide, a monoterpenoid and a resorcinol derivative, due to the meta arrangement of its two hydroxil groups (one of them in the form of an ether) on the bencene ring. Similarly, to the case of the cannabielsoic acids, the inclusion of cannabielsoin as a cannabis natural product is controversial because it has been isolated and identified infrequently. Additionally, cannabielsoin is most likely a product of the photo-oxidation of cannabidiol (CBD). It has also been detected as a metabolite from CBD in mammals (PMID: 1806944), suggesting that CBE is not a natural product but more likely an artifact. However, cannabielsoin has been repeatedly mentioned in the literature as a natural cannabinoid and is therefore considered a cannabinoid.