MOLECULE

Cannabigerolic acid

Cannabigerolic acid, CBGA, is a phytocannabinoid that belongs to the class of organic compounds known as hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives. CBGA is a dihydroxybenzoic acid derived from olivetolic acid on which the hydrogen at position 3 is substituted by a geranyl group. CBGA 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). As such, CBGA can be considered a polyketide, a monoterpenoid and a resorcinol, due to the meta arrangement of its two hydroxyl groups on the benzene ring. CBGA is a key biosynthetic precursor of Delta (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa.  As mentioned above, olivetolic acid and geranyl diphosphate are synthesized into CBGA. The CBGA is converted in the plant by CBCA synthase, cannabidiolic acid synthase (CBDA synthase) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase (THCA synthase) into CBCA, CBDA and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA).The THCA can be decarboxylated into THC by drying and heating plant material. Therefore, CBGA is an important cannabinoid found in cannabis. Because of its biosynthetic relationship to other psychoactive compounds, many efforts have been addressed to find alternative ways of producing it, particularly in yeast (PMID: 28694184) Additionally, cannabigerolic acid has shown antibiotic properties (PMID: 6991645).