Cannabis contains over 100 different compounds with various medicinal effects. CBD and THC are the two which occur in highest concentrations, so are the easiest for farmers to extract and are therefore the best known.
However, this doesn’t mean they are the most effective. Many other compounds in the plant also have distinct pharmacological effects. Let’s take Cannabigerol (CBG) as one example, which is rapidly gaining popularity as ‘the next CBD.’
CBG is the natural precursor to THC and CBD, present in the immature plant before metabolising into THC or CBD so it is called the ‘stem cell’ cannabinoid. CBG is found in very low concentrations in the plant and only when the plants are immature, so extraction requires sacrificing the whole crop prematurely, making agricultural production extremely costly. For this reason BioPharm are preparing to produce pharmaceutical CBG via organic chemistry methods instead.
Global research efforts into the underlying mechanisms of medical cannabis have identified over 100 distinct compounds in the plant with a myriad of different pharmacological effects.
There is generalised accord amongst practitioners on ‘the entourage effect’ – that it is the combination of natural compounds in the correct ratio which provide greatest efficacy, yet agricultural production methods are still focused on CBD and THC, becuase the other compunds are found in such low concentrations in the plant that it is extremeley costly to isolate and control the ratios of the other compounds.
BioPharm’s patented method of producing generic cannabidiol and derivatives using organic chemistry and propretary biosynthesis methods are not restricted by the limitations of plant material and are being further developed to produce not only CBD and CBG but other cannabinoids as well. As these systems are developed, BioPharm will supply a whole range of cannabinoids in custom combinations for researchers and medicine manufacturers, economically, with pharmaceutical purity, meaning new medicines can be supplied sustainably in quantities to reach their true potential.