What Is CBG?

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Here’s What You Should Know About This Unusual Cannabinoid

CBD’s been in the spotlight for several years straight — but thankfully, it’s willing to share the attention. More and more people are beginning to learn about a different cannabinoid, CBG, that has some pretty impressive health benefits of its own.

In this blog, we’ll be distilling everything you need to know about CBG down into a super-simple format. Well, almost everything…

What is CBG?

CBG, short for Cannabigerol, is a cannabinoid. That means it comes from the cannabis plant family. Technically speaking, it also means that CBG is able to interact with our body’s innate endocannabinoid receptors.

Like CBD, CBG is non-psychotropic. It doesn’t induce euphoria because it doesn’t bind to the same targets that THC does; instead, cannabigerol works behind the scenes to reduce inflammation and stress.

It’s also worth stating where CBG comes from. While virtually any hemp plant will contain some amount of cannabigerol, only young hemp plants contain anything significant. CBG is basically the “mother cannabinoid” from which all other cannabinoids — whether THC or CBD or something else — are eventually produced.

What is Cannabigerol (CBG)?

Young hemp plants that are harvested before their cannabigerol gets converted have way more of the compound than fully mature plants.

All that said, some hemp cultivars are just beginning to be bred for their cannabigerol content, so we might see CBG-rich mature hemp in the near future.

What is CBG Oil?

CBG oil is simply an oil or tincture product based around a CBG-rich hemp extract, not to be confused with CBG isolate, which is the purest form of cannabigerol (only CBG is preserved during the hemp extract while all other cannabinoids are removed).

While this extract can come from young hemp plants, more commonly it’s been separated off from large-scale CBD extractions. In other words, a hundred CBD extractions might produce plenty of built-up cannabigerol to work with.

CBG oil looks the same, smells the same, and tastes the same as conventional CBD oil. And it often feels the same way, too — users report less anxiety and a greater sense of wellbeing. That said, cannabigerol oil does have some unique benefits of its own.

What Does the Research Say About Cannabigerol?

First and foremost, cannabigerol seems to reduce inflammation. Some studies have shown it can reduce the levels of inflammatory cytokine molecules; others capture CBD reducing inflammation within the brain. It appears that CBG reduces oxidation, as well…not surprising when you consider the two go hand in hand.

But that’s far from the only thing cannabigerol does. Researchers have known about CBG’s value against glaucoma and other eye conditions since as far back as 1990. (That’s like eons in cannabigerol-research time.)

This is a big deal because CBD on its own doesn’t seem to have much of an effect; CBG could very well be the only federally-legal option for those with glaucoma and other intraocular-pressure-based problems.

Can Marijuana Treat Glaucoma

Another benefit? Cannabigerol may be one of the most anti-microbial cannabinoids out there. We say most because virtually every cannabinoid has some type of germ-fighting abilities.

For example, a very recent study found that cannabigerol may kill MRSA. “CBG proved to be marvelous at tackling pathogenic bacteria,” confirmed the study’s lead researcher. “The findings suggest real therapeutic potential for cannabinoids as antibiotics.”

Cannabigerol’s antimicrobial effects could carry over to other areas, too. It may be helpful for those with IBD and similar gut problems; partially because of its bacteria-fighting prowess, and partially because of the anti-inflammatory properties we mentioned earlier.

The study’s authors put their conclusion pretty mildly: “CBG could be considered for clinical experimentation in IBD patients.”

Summing Things Up

It’s worth noting that cannabigerol research has only really picked up in the last few years. Both more research and more real-world experience are needed before we can know the full extent of CBG’s health benefits.

In the meantime, here’s to being more aware — and perhaps more appreciative — of this unique cannabinoid.

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