What are acidic cannabinoids?

What does “cannabinoids in acid form” mean? If “acidic cannabinoids” leaves you looking blank, you’re in the right place. It’s actually very simple: the cannabis plant produces cannabinoids in the form of acids, which have no psychoactive effects. Then, when you smoke or vaporise cannabis flower, heat turns these acidic cannabinoids into their more active forms, such as THC or CBD.

In recent years there has been growing interest in the study of acidic cannabinoids and their possible therapeutic applications. In this post, we explain what cannabinoids in acid form are, how they differ from the active or neutral ones, and the potential they could offer.

What are cannabinoids in acid form?

Cannabinoids in acid form are the precursor substances of the cannabinoids we know, such as THC or CBD. The first cannabinoid acid to be discovered was CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), isolated in 1955 by Krejci and Santavy.

While the plant is growing, cannabinoids are synthesised in acid form, shown by an “A” at the end of the cannabinoid’s name. In other words, the cannabis plant produces THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in the form of THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) and CBD in the form of CBDA (cannabidiolic acid).

For example, 95% of the CBD found in cannabis is in the form of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).

Acidic cannabinoids do not produce psychoactive effects and are less active than their neutral forms. Although they are generally considered biologically inactive, more and more properties of these compounds are in fact being discovered.

Chemical structure of acidic cannabinoids

The chemical structure of acidic cannabinoids is very similar to that of their neutral forms. The main difference lies in the presence of a carboxylic acid group (COOH) in the molecules. This chemical group is what gives the cannabinoids their “acidic” nature.

Converting acidic cannabinoids into active or neutral cannabinoids

Acidic cannabinoids turn into their active or neutral forms when heat is applied, in a process called decarboxylation, also known as cannabinoid activation.

The oldest way of decarboxylating is smoking a joint, although there are other, more modern methods, such as vaporisation. It also happens with the heat applied during cooking, for example when baking a cannabis brownie. To a lesser extent, this process also happens naturally, over time and through exposure to light and ambient heat.

Types of acidic cannabinoids and their properties

THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)

Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), also called delta-9-THCA or D9-THCA, is the precursor of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis. Two forms have been described, A (THCA-A) and B, the first being the more studied.

Unlike THC, THCA is not psychoactive, which is why it was initially thought not to be an active substance. But according to current studies, it may have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective and antiproliferative properties. There is some controversy about its possible mechanism of action, as it was initially thought that acidic cannabinoids did not bind to cannabinoid receptors, but THCA appears to have an affinity for CB2 and, above all, CB1.

CBDA (cannabidiolic acid)

Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) is the acidic cannabinoid that is the precursor of cannabidiol (CBD). CBDA has attracted research interest because of its potential therapeutic effects, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anxiolytic and antiproliferative properties.

CBGA (cannabigerolic acid)

Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) is the precursor of cannabigerol (CBG). This cannabinoid is special because it is considered “the mother of all other cannabinoids” (or the father, depending on the author). From CBGA, the cannabis plant produces the cannabinoids THC, CBD and CBC, in a chemical process known as cannabinoid biosynthesis.

CBCA (cannabichromenic acid)

Cannabichromenic acid (CBCA) is one of the main cannabinoids produced in cannabis, along with CBDA, THCA and CBGA. However, little is known about the properties of this cannabinoid, beyond the fact that it is the acidic form of cannabichromene (CBC).

THCVA (tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid)

Tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA) is the precursor of the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). As for its properties and potential therapeutic applications, knowledge about THCVA is much more limited than for other cannabinoids, and more research is still needed to fully understand its properties and potential benefits.

CBNA (cannabinolic acid)

Cannabinolic acid (CBNA) is the acidic precursor form of the cannabinoid cannabinol (CBN), also known as the “sleep cannabinoid” because of its possible sedative effects. CBNA is produced from THCA. As in the previous cases, very little information is available and its properties are not precisely known.

CBDVA (cannabidivarinic acid)

Cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA) is the acidic form of the cannabinoid cannabidivarin (CBDV), which has properties similar to those of CBD, but has shown more effective potential for some of them.

Effects of cannabinoids in acid form and their therapeutic potential

For a long time, pharmacological interest has focused on the study of neutral cannabinoids such as THC and CBD, which are considered the active forms and the ones with proven medical applications. However, acidic cannabinoids appear to have other properties and therapeutic applications, which has led to growing interest in the study of these compounds.

Hypothetically, the effects of these acidic compounds could interact with the other compounds in cannabis and complement the effect of the neutral cannabinoids, in what is known as the entourage effect of cannabis.

The two most studied acidic cannabinoids are CBDA and THCA, and the fields in which they look most promising are the following:

• Anti-inflammatory properties: both THCA and CBDA have shown potent anti-inflammatory properties.
• Potential against nausea and vomiting: reducing nausea and vomiting is one of the most studied areas for CBDA, possibly because of its interaction with serotonin receptors.
• Anti-epileptic potential: CBDA has been observed to have anti-epileptic properties in combination with CBD, which could lead to the development of more effective treatments for certain types of epilepsy.
• Potential for anxiety: CBD has shown anxiolytic effects in people with certain anxiety disorders and depression, and it is thought that CBDA could have a similar effect or complement it. But more research is needed to fully understand its therapeutic potential.

While promising results have been found in preliminary studies, more research is needed to fully understand the properties and possible medical applications of acidic cannabinoids.

How to get cannabinoids in their acid form

Vaporising cannabis

Vaporising cannabis at low temperatures seems to be a good way of getting cannabinoids in their acidic forms as well as their neutral ones. Since the two forms could complement each other’s effects, it seems to be one of the best ways to get the effects of these cannabinoids.

In a study comparing THCA concentrations across three conventional methods of cannabis consumption (vaporisation, combustion and extraction), the plant extract was found to contain the most THCA, the vapour contained 5–10% of the THCA found in the extract, and no THCA at all was identified in combustion.

Extrapolating these results to CBD, one way of getting CBDA would be full spectrum CBD oil, followed by vaporisation.

We hope you found this information about acidic cannabinoids interesting. It’s amazing how much knowledge the study of a single plant holds! As more research is carried out, we are likely to discover more properties of cannabinoids in acid form, and we’ll be here to explain them to you. In the meantime, you can relax with the products in our CBD shop:

Please remember that this is an informative article and is not intended to prevent, diagnose or treat any disease or symptom. Its content may complement, but never replace, the diagnosis or treatment of any disease or symptom. Cannactiva products are not medicines.