Terpenes and the Entourage Effect – What the new research says
For those who may not follow the research on terpenes as religiously as we do here at CannTerp, you may have missed one of the newest pieces of research published. The best part of this recent research is it was published in the journal ‘Nature’ –Which is a very prestigious journal.
So, let us dive into to what the data showed. First off, the paper found that, in scientific terms: Cannabis sativa terpenes are cannabimimetic and selectively enhance cannabinoid activity. Now what does this mean? It pretty much confirms what we have all known anecdotally for a very long time: that terpenes play a key role in the effects and therapeutic properties. Terpenes not only interact with cannabinoids; they also often mimic cannabinoids, which influences not only the scent and taste, but also how we feel when consuming cannabis. They further found that terpenes bond to many of the same receptors as cannabinoids, which boosted their effects. The researchers drew that in conclusion: “These behavioral effects were selectively additive, suggesting terpenes can boost cannabinoid activity.”
They even go a step further with saying: “findings suggest that these Cannabis terpenes are multifunctional cannabimimetic ligands that provide conceptual support for the entourage effect hypothesis and could be used to enhance the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids”.
This is essentially saying that terpenes mimic cannabinoids at the receptor level and bind to the same receptors (CB1). This demonstrates that in principle, one could use terpenes to enhance therapeutic properties, such as analgesia, without worsening the potential side effects of cannabinoid treatment. This is extremely powerful as it could potentially lead to the fine-tuning of therapies for medical patients or taking control of the effects of recreational consumption.
The pharmacology is extremely complex, given the multitude of molecules and further research needed, however this demonstrates that all consumers could benefit by experimenting with different terpenes, as it could potentially lead to an enhanced effect.
Anyone can try playing around with different terpene profiles. If you are a dried flower consumer, we suggest our unique BudBooster terpene infusion pearls. We also have many liquid terpene isolates, therapy blends or strain profiles, to add a few drops to your oil, beverage, lotion, or diffuser.
All our terpenes are 100% natural and undiluted, steam distilled, non-GMO, organic and food grade.
LaVigne, J.E., Hecksel, R., Keresztes, A. et al. Cannabis sativa terpenes are cannabimimetic and selectively enhance cannabinoid activity. Sci Rep 11, 8232 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87740-8