Phytocannabinoids

What are Phytocannabinoids?
Phytocannabinoids, the active ingredients, are a group of terpenophenolic plant-derived cannabinoids found in the resin-producing pistillate inflorescences of the Cannabis sativa L. plant (considered one of the oldest known plants to be cultivated). They are similar to endocannabinoids in shape and behavior stimulating cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 (receptor agonists) producing  a variety of medical benefits.
Belonging to the Cannabaceae family, cannabis has several varieties (Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis) with Cannabis sativa being the most common species.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the primary psychoactive and certainly the most best known cannabinoid.
Research shows that other cannabinoids such as Cannabidiol (CBD) plays a significant role in nearly every aspect of the medical benefits of cannabis plant, and has a variety of healing properties. CBD is non-psychoactive, and has been found to have strong anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-convulsive properties, and is not a psychoactive cannabinoid like THC. Studies are also showing CBD as a safe and effective antimicrobial molecule when battling bacterial infections like MRSA, Clostridium difficile and others. In a time when bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to pharmaceutical antibiotics, CBD is an opportunity for healing that has still not been fully explored. Some research indicates that CBD could even act as a neuroprotective agent, and suggests CBD may reduce anxiety in social anxiety disorder and have antidepressant effects for those who are depressed.
Cannabinol (CBN), Cannabigerol (CBG), Cannabidivirin (CBDV) and Cannabichromene (CBC) are examples of other cannabinoids gaining the interest of researchers due to medicinal effects.
Currently 85 phytocannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis sativa L. plant, but other medical herbs, such as echinacea purpura, have been found to contain non-psychoactive cannabinoids as well.

What are the medicinal properties of phytocannabinoids?
Cannabis concentrates of phytocannabinoids, also known as cannabis oil, are significantly more potent than regular cannabis flowers, and their applications as medicine have proven to be diverse and effective through out centuries. Historical documents from ancient India, China, Arabia, Greece and Rome reveal the use of extracts of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) to cause a variety of medicinal effects. Chinese texts as early as the third millennium BC, described the cannabis extracts usefulness in the relief of pain, cramps and for surgical anesthesia.
The use of cannabis reached Europe and the US through the Arab world in the 19th century. During the same period, cannabis extracts had gained widespread use for medicinal purposes until 1937, when from unknown reasons the banning of cannabis for further medicinal use in the United States were implemented. Up until cannabis was removed from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) in 1942 it was available in pharmacies in many Western countries. When cannabis was removed it effectively eliminated any therapeutic legitimacy it may have once held!

1. Cancer
Numerous recent studies have suggested that cannabinoids might directly inhibit cancer growth.The proposed mechanisms are complex and may involve induction of apoptosis in tumor cells, antiproliferative action, and an antimetastatic effect through inhibition of angiogenesis and tumor cell migration. Various cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), anandamide, and 2-AG, and endocannabinoid transport inhibitors have been shown to induce apoptotic cell death and to inhibit proliferation and migration in numerous murine and human tumor cell lines including glioma, oligodendroglioma, glioblastoma multiforme, astrocytoma, neuroblastoma, pheochromocytoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon carcinoma, uterine cervix carcinoma, thyroid cancer, leukemia, and lymphoid tumors. Cannabinoids inhibit the proliferation of various tumor cells, possibly through inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and the cAMP/protein kinase A pathway, induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1, a decrease in epidermal growth factor receptor expression and/or the attenuation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase activity, and a decrease in the activity and/or expression of nerve growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase receptors and prolactin. In addition to their proapoptotic and antiproliferative effects in tumor cells, cannabinoids also inhibit the expression of proangiogenic mediators or their receptors (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor,  VEGF) and reduce vascular hyperplasia and cell migration, which play crucial roles in tumor growth and metastasis formation (1).

2. Arthritis
The immunosuppressant and anti-inflammatory properties of cannabinoids are highly relevant for RA and other autoimmune disorders (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune vasculitis, Sjögren's syndrome, and ankylosing spondylitis). Indeed, THC  and cannabidiol (CBD) have been shown to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and immunosuppressive effects in animal models of arthritis (2).

3. Epilepsy
Cannabis has been used to treat epilepsy for centuries. Hashish was reported to cure the sick son of the chamberlain of the Caliphate Council in Baghdad by the medieval Arab writer Ibn al-Badri. Almost four centuries later, W. B. O'Shaughnessy, an Irish physician and scientist working at the Medical College of Calcutta, confirmed the benefit of hashish for treating pain, emesis, muscle spasms, and convulsions (3). Numerous patientcases reporting the ability of CBD to drastically reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures, even in treatment-resistant cases of epilepsy such as Dravet syndrome.

4. Analgesia
One of the earliest uses of cannabis extracts was to treat pain centruies ago (4). Numerous research studies have also demonstrated beneficial effects of cannabinoids in animal models of pain (5). Recent animal studies indicate that anandamide and cannabinoid ligands are also very effective against chronic pain of both neuropathic and inflammatory origin (6). Cannabinoids exert their antinociceptive effects by complex mechanisms involving effects on the central nervous system and peripheral sensory nerves (7). This is consistent with the anatomical location of CB1 receptors in areas relevant to pain in the brain, spinal dorsal horn, dorsal root ganglia, and peripheral afferent neurons. Cannabinoid agonists may also release endogenous opioids, and a functional interplay between the endocannabinoid and opioid systems in modulating analgesic responses has been suggested by numerous studies (8). There are numerous case reports on the beneficial effects of cannabis  in pain associated with multiple sclerosis, cancer, neuropathies (9).

Cannabinoids´ properties:
1. Antiproleferative effect - Prevents cancer cells from reproducing.
2. Antiangiogenic effect - Prevents formation of new blood vessels needed by tumor to grow. Inhibits VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)
3. Antimetastatic effect - Prevents cancer from spreading to other organs.
4. Apoptotic effect - Induces cancer cell to seek its own death.
5. Analgesic effect - Pain reliever
6. Anti-inflammatory effect
7. Reduce intra-ocular pressure
8. Improve sleep
9. Antioxidant effect
10. Effective antimicrobial effect (antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal)