Examine your hemp oil closely. It’s containing hundreds of therapeutic compounds that help CBD hemp oil’s effects and benefits. You’re probably already familiar with the plant’s two most well-known components, THC and CBD. Still, the plant also produces a slew of additional molecules that appear to play a supporting role in a strain’s overall effects.
The entourage effect is a belief that various hemp compounds interact together to produce different products and advantages.
What is the Entourage Effect, and how does it work?
Our bodies absorb hundreds of plant components when we intake CBD hemp oil. Each one has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, and its behavior may change in the presence of other substances. The entourage effect is what it’s called.
It’s similar to how your mood might shift depending on your social situation. When you’re alone, at a party with strangers, or with your best buddy, how do you act? Depending on who’s in the room, your attitude, and the persona you project change.
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Research on Entourage Effect:
Let’s use two substances you’re probably familiar with to demonstrate the entourage effect in cannabis: THC and CBD. Patients with cancer pain were given either a pure THC extract or an extract with near-equal quantities of THC and CBD in a 2010 study, and those who received the THC/CBD combo reported decreased discomfort.
According to advocates, the entourage effect’s group dynamics can provide emergent qualities that would not otherwise be present in pure THC or CBD. Many hemp experts feel that the entourage effect can drastically boost THC and CBD’s medicinal utility, either by amplifying their recognized effects or expanding their therapeutic applications.
Hemp compounds have therapeutic effects due to their ability to bind to naturally occurring endocannabinoid receptors in the brain and central nervous system. Although the human endocannabinoid system designs to link with endogenous cannabinoids produced by the body, compounds discovered in hemp plants can also bind these receptors.
When human’s intake high-quality full-spectrum CBD hemp oil, they reap numerous health benefits.
One of the reasons hemp oil is such a powerful treatment is because of the entourage effect.
How does the Entourage Effect work?
Though several researchers have contributed to the entourage effect notion as it applies to cannabis, Dr. Ethan Russo is the name most identified with it. Russo thoroughly summarized earlier findings on cannabinoid synergy, basically invented the term “entourage effect,” and outlined its mechanism in his 2011 publication, “Taming THC: possible cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects.”
Dr. Russo highlighted a 2009 study from Germany that defined how herbal synergy works in general, not only in cannabis or hemp, to explain how the entourage effect works. It outlined four significant mechanisms, three of which are especially pertinent to cannabis and hemp:
Multi-Target Enhancing Effects
Drugs usually work on one or two molecular targets in our bodies to produce a specific impact. Plant chemicals with a multi-target action can affect multiple targets. The interaction of THC with CB1, CB2, GPR18, GPR55, TRPV2, TRPV3, & many other receptors in cannabis and hemp is a well-known example. A wide range of targets can amplify THC’s effects.
But it’s not just THC; other cannabinoids, terpenes, and possibly even flavonoids can activate a wide range of targets, boosting or altering THC’s effects.
Comparing a pure THC medicine with a whole plant extraction in the treatment of spasticity was one of the earliest recorded examples of THC’s potentiating effects when delivered synergistically. It has been shown that complete plant extraction is substantially more effective in treating spasticity than using THC alone, at equivalent dosages.
Effects of Boosting Molecular Movement
Pharmacodynamics (how medications influence your body) and pharmacokinetics (how drugs affect your body) are the two primary disciplines of pharmacology (how your body affects drugs or the movement of drugs within the body). While phytocannabinoids’ multi-target enhancing effects link to the former, phytocannabinoids’ movement enhancing impacts links to pharmacokinetics.
The end outcome is the same (a boost in THC or CBD), but the path to get there is a little different. The interaction of molecules on a range of targets causes the multi-target boosting effect. The movement-enhancing benefits of whole-plant hemp products are due to the way a group of molecules (an entourage) passes through the body more efficiently than if one of them traveled alone.
Modulation of Adverse Effects
These benefits are achieved when an ingredient in a plant extract…’ neutralizes’ or kills a toxically acting constituent, resulting in improved efficacy compared to the original raw medication. There is a growing body of evidence that CBD can reduce the adverse effects of THC, such as poor memory, anxiety, and psychotomimetic impact (such as paranoia and social withdrawal).
Terpenes and Cannabinoids – The Entourage Effect in Cannabis
Dr. Russo also introduced a new study approach in “Taming THC”: it’s possible that other cannabis components, such as minor cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids, have a part in the entourage effect, in addition to THC and CBD.
Terpenes are aromatic molecules that give most plants their fragrance and taste, but they are also pharmacologically active and can alter the body. Cannabis’ terpene concentration fluctuation is one of its distinguishing features (almost 200 different terpenes in cannabis).
The abundance of terpenes in a specific chemovar, according to Dr. Russo, is likely to determine its effects. These terpenes could affect whether it’s sedating or stimulating, as well as whether it’s beneficial for illnesses and symptoms including pain, inflammation, anxiety, epilepsy, or depression.
How to Take Advantage of the Entourage Effect
The most crucial rule is to choose whole-plant products over isolates when it comes to the entourage effect. Then there are a few things you can do to improve your experience, such as picking the correct strain for you.
- Make a goal for yourself. What do you hope to accomplish using CBD hemp oil? Have a peaceful evening, improve your work focus, treat seizures, and alleviate pain?
- Investigate. Learn about the cannabinoids and terpenes that are effective for the goals you’re pursuing.
- Explore. Look for chemovars that have a high concentration of these cannabinoids and terpenes.
- Test. Experiment with different chemovars until you find one that suits you.
The cannabis and hemp studies are still in its infancy. There is currently no method to recommend a specific cannabis or hemp product for a particular disease or purpose. You can, however, use the information we have limit down your options.
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Written by: Stephanie Kolding