CBG (Cannabigerol) is the Future For Anyone Who Wants to Feel Good

Fact Checked By

Dr. Max Kerr

Published May 20, 2020 by

Jacqueline Havelka

With over 55 million people [1] using cannabis in the United States and many of them seeking to boost their mood and positive feelings, this plant is now a mainstream phenomenon. Although many people attribute this feeling of euphoria to THC, it may be CBG (cannabigerol) instead.

As scientists isolate and test CBG, it is becoming clear that this molecule can support boosts in euphoria, mood, and positive feelings.

Most research has been done to date on the two most well-known cannabinoids, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

Current research is finally turning to the many other plant cannabinoids known to exist.

Scientists think that there are upwards of 100 cannabinoids in hemp, although not all of them have been isolated.

Of the cannabinoids that scientists have discovered, several have proven to be beneficial hemp compounds: cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG).

In this article, we explore CBG, a compound that is not found in large quantities in most hemp and strains of cannabis, but nevertheless packs a powerful and positive punch.

If you read until the end, you’ll learn why our friend Dr. Craig Koniver is such a fan of this novel cannabinoid.

In this article

CBG and Inflammation
Cannabigerol and ECS Receptors
Why Cannabigerol Is So Powerful
Where to Buy CBG

CBG and Inflammation

Preliminary research suggests CBG combats may assist in combating inflammation. Although research has just begun, CBG has been already been shown to potentially have neuroprotective effects. This means that CBG may protect the nerve cells against damage and functional impairment.

CBG may assist with inflammation as well as oxidative stress [2], the imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Both cause nerves to degenerate, which leads to eventual loss of nerve cells, which leads to functional impairment in the body.

Several studies have demonstrated that CBG may have antioxidant properties. In one study on cells, researchers intentionally introduced toxicity to motor nerve cells. CBG was able to reduce the loss of nerve cells by inhibiting a process called apoptosis. Cells have a built-in, naturally-occurring “programming” to initiate cell death when the cell detects toxicity or other anomalies.

In this study, CBG may have helped to counteract inflammation. Scientists actually measured the reduction of inflammatory chemicals that occurred — chemicals like interleukins and tissue necrosis factor (TNF).

If that’s not enough, CBG was shown to restore levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), a naturally-occurring biochemical in the body. Nrf2 regulates a cell’s resistance to oxidation [3] and mounts the antioxidant response. All three of these effects together created the neuroprotective effect.

Cannabigerol and ECS Receptors

Like many cannabinoids, the value of CBG comes from the molecule’s ability to interact with the human body’s remarkable endocannabinoid system (ECS).

This system keeps the body in a chemically-balanced state called homeostasis. When balanced, the body operates like a finely tuned engine. The ECS performs specific functions in specific parts of the body. For example, when an injury occurs, the ECS regulates immune cells and inflammation at the site of the injury.

Scientists know that human endocannabinoids like adrenaline and others bind to one of two types of ECS receptors: CB1, mainly found in the brain, or CB2, found throughout the body and particularly in the immune system.

The beauty is that plant cannabinoids also bind with these human receptors. The cannabinoids and ECS receptors work like a lock and key mechanism. When the cannabinoids bind with the receptors, an “unlocking” occurs, and a cascade of biochemicals changes the cell’s function to restore balance.

CBG has been found to act on both receptors [4]. In this particular study, CBG had a small effect on CB1 receptors but the effect on the CB2 receptors was measurably profound.

CBG and Cancer

CBG may even show promise in cancer treatment. After chemotherapy, muscle wasting (cachexia) is quite common. The severe nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy drugs induces the muscle wasting.

THC-based compounds have been used for many years to increase appetite of cancer patients. However, THC has one main drawback that many cancer patients don’t like — THC is psychoactive, and patients don’t like feeling “high.”

Researchers performed studies in animals to test CBG’s effect on appetite. Since CBG is non-hallucinogenic, it doesn’t make patients “high.” In a 2019 study [5], rats were given the chemotherapy agent cisplatin. Then, researchers monitored the animals’ feeding behavior and motor activity. They even took blood samples to determine CBG’s effects on biochemistry.

CBG did indeed help the animals increase food intake, therefore stopping the weight loss so common with cisplatin. The researchers concluded that CBG-based treatments might just represent a new therapeutic option for cancer patients. That’s remarkable.

Can CBG directly fight cancer? Maybe. CBG may interact with specific CB1 and CB2 target receptors involved in the growth of cancer cells. In a recent study, researchers looke at CBG’s effects on colorectal cancer cells of mice [6]. CBG inhibited the CB2 receptors’ ability to activate the biochemical cascade of cancer growth, so tumor growth was inhibited. While much more research is needed, CBG should absolutely be considered as a viable option for colorectal cancer prevention and treatment.

Why Cannabigerol Is So Powerful

Naturally, as people begin to try cannabigerol, there is a large amount of anecdotal evidence from happy consumers. In one example [7], people who took CBG said they had improved vision for a couple of hours afterwards. The eye contains numerous endocannabinoid receptors, so CBG likely binds with these receptors to produce all kinds of eye benefits.

Early research has shown that CBG is a vasodilator, meaning it dilates the blood vessels. This may mean that CBG can reduce intraocular pressure, which could help glaucoma patients.

Although CBG is found in very small amounts in plants, it is actually the precursor to the three main cannabinoid lines: tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), and cannabichromenic acid (CBCA).

In other words, no other cannabinoid can be synthesized in the plant without the presence of CBG. Amazingly, different enzymes act on CBG’s precursor cannabigerolic acid (CBGA). Depending on the acting enzyme, CBGA is directed to make one of the three main cannabinoid lines. Once naturally exposed to heat or UV light as part of the growing cycle, the three precursors become the cannabinoids we have all come to know.

More and more, research is being conducted on cannabigerol (CBG). The compound is getting the attention of the pharmacological world. CBG is more abundant in hemp than in cannabis, and some industrial hemp strains have very high amounts of CBG.

Hemp growers and breeders are conducting experiments to cross-breed plants to get higher CBG yields. They also try different extraction techniques to obtain higher levels of CBG.

There can be strength in small numbers, and as a promising non-psychoactive compound, cannabigerol offers great promise in neuroprotection and other remedies.

Where to Buy CBG

Despite all the positive possibilities with CBG, the research is still in its infancy. However, numerous individuals have taken it upon themselves to try these products out for themselves.

One such individual, Dr. Craig Koniver of Koniver Wellness, was quoted as saying the following about CBG in a recent interview series we created:

CBG caught Sovereignty’s attention as well, which is why we a CBG supplement called Purpose to assist with mental cognition and high energy support. Purpose is a broad-spectrum hemp extract from our California-grown hemp. The product is fortified with therapeutic doses of this molecule and clinically-studied ingredients, as well as the company’s custom Energy Terpene Formula, a high-limonene/pinene concoction. We also used a sister molecule to create a CBN supplement, but that’s another story for another day.

Combine all of that with adaptogenic herbs and there is a reason Dr Koniver and dozens of others (70% to be precise) consider Purpose a mood-enhancing upgrade to coffee in the morning.