Published on: 23/05/2023
THESE ARE THE PROPERTIES OF CANNABIDIVARIN THAT (MAYBE) YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
Cannabidivarin is a phytocannabinoid from cannabis that is still little known, but on which scientific research has been investing for several years to discover its possible applications in the medical field.
Also known by the acronym CBDV, cannabidivarin does not have psychotropic effects, exactly like CBD: it is in fact the product of the chemical reaction between specific enzymes and CBGA (cannabigerolic acid), i.e., the CBD molecule without decarboxylation being developed yet.
More specifically, CBD is a molecule with 5 carbon atoms (so it has a pentyl chain, while CBDV has 4 carbon atoms (i.e., a propyl chain).
Among the many varieties of cannabis and cannabis seeds, the one with the highest cannabidivarin content seems to be indica, especially those from Nepal, India, and other neighboring regions.
In this article we will take a closer look at this issue.
Properties of cannabidivarin
As mentioned, science is very interested in the potential of cannabidivarin (a derivated from marijuana seeds too), a molecule that appears to have applications from a variety of medical fields. Research has been going on for years and in some cases has produced interesting, though not definitive, results as a pain reliever, an antiemetic, and to counter epilepsy, autism, and Rett syndrome, diseases for which there is no cure and which this molecule could help counter.
Cannabidivarin against epilepsy
In 2014, the pharmaceutical industry GW Pharmaceuticals conducted and brought to a conclusion a phase 1 clinical study on the possible beneficial effects of CBDV in combating epilepsy aimed at creating a drug to be administered along with other treatments. The following year, the U.S. Patent Office granted the company a patent for the use of cannabidivarin to produce drugs against this serious disease.
GW Pharmaceuticals has been conducting research on cannabinoid applications for years, as you can tell from this PubMed publication.
Read also: Cannabis varieties: what are the differences between different types of marijuana?
CBDV to counteract autism and Rett syndrome
Autism spectrum disorders in Italy, for example, affect 1 in 77 children, predominantly boys (4.4 times more than girls). Thus, these are quite widespread syndromes on which research attention is always alive.
Cannabidivarin has shown some potential as a therapy to address autism. A 2019 study that appeared in the journal Transnational Psychiatry examined the interaction between this molecule and markers of brain inhibitory/excitatory systems such as GAMA and glutamate. The research analyzed the effects on 34 participants, 17 diagnosed with autism and 17 not.
In both groups, CBDV affected glutamate levels, but without uniformity in all participants.
Another research study, more specifically a review, was conducted between the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the aforementioned GW Pharmaceuticals. The study compared a CBDV-containing drug with a placebo regarding its effects on children with autistic syndrome and concluded that the molecule could become a ‘promising’ treatment against typical autism spectrum dysfunction.
Similar discussion can be made for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a very serious neurological disorder that predominantly affects women and causes neurological problems because it affects the central nervous system. A 2018 study, conducted in guinea pigs and published in the journal Neuropharmacology, showed that CBDV was able to positively affect several areas of the brain and improve neurological deficits.
The findings were confirmed by a further study in 2019, however, which downplayed the impact of cannabidivarin’s effect, which is unfortunately only transient and difficult to maintain when the disease is already in an advanced stage. But studies on the molecule’s potential continue.
Cannabidivarin: a remedy against nausea as well?
CBDV could also be successfully used as an antiemetic, that is, to counter nausea and vomiting. Research began to look closely at cannabidivarin as early as 2013: a study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, conducted by the University of Guelph, showed that the molecule, as well as THCV and other substances, reduced congestive vomiting caused by other molecules, CB1 receptor reverse agonists.
Among its properties, therefore, cannabidivarin appears to be able to fighting nausea.
Read also: 3 tips for long-term storage of cannabis
Conclusion: CBVD shows promise
Cannabidivarin is a little-known cannabinoid can be created by weed seeds, but one with really interesting properties and many possible applications in the medical field. Studies have been going on for years, and already we are seeing interesting results and the first dressings against various types of diseases. The research around this molecule, however, is still in its infancy: all the results obtained so far need to be confirmed by further studies before there is solid scientific confirmation.
What is (almost) certain is that the CBDV molecule, as well as other cannabinoids such as cannabicromene, could soon have remarkable curative applications that were until a few years ago completely ignored.
