CBG, one of the cannabinoids found within the cannabis plant, has proven itself worthy of praise over the last decade, with research emerging highlighting the therapeutic potential of the cannabinoid.
Despite normally making up less than 1% of the total cannabinoid profile of whole extracts, CBG has always shown significant effects on various diseases such as glaucoma, appetite loss from chemotherapy, IBD and even bacterial infections.
Unfortunately the research has been a little bit slower than its cousin CBD, mainly due to the the low quantity found in a harvest – resulting in higher costs and difficulty to obtain. These factors have affected the popularity of CBG, and allowed CBD to take the majority of the spotlight.
So we’re going to hype it up a bit – because we love an underdog here at Nordic Botanics!
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a condition that stops part of the brain working properly over time, its a genetic disorder that usually gets progressively worse over time. The symptoms starts at roughly 30-50 years of age, and usually becomes fatal after a period of 20 years.
Huntington’s disease is an inherited disease, which means you’re usually at risk of developing huntington’s if one or both of your parents has or had it. It’s a devastating illness that can require full-time nursing during the later years of the illness. Symptoms of the disease include:
- Difficulty concentrating and memory lapse
- Depression
- Stumbling & clumsiness
- Involuntary jerking or fidgety movements of the limbs
- Mood swings & personality changes
- Problems swallowing, speaking or breathing
- Difficulty moving
Treatments for Huntington’s are mainly for helping with the symptoms and slowing the degeneration rather than a specific cure as of yet. The complicated nature of the disease being genetic creates a large hurdle science has yet to be able to clear.
CBG & Huntington’s Disease
Cannabinoids such as CBD have routinely been investigated as treatments for chronic illnesses such as Huntington’s for years, however in 2015 researchers conducted an investigation using CBG to assess the effect. Using a mice study, CBG was shown to actually possess neuroprotective qualities, such as recovery of deteriorated rotarod performance. The study even showed that CBG partially normalised expression of certain genes associated with being negatively affected by Huntington’s!
Slowing Down Degeneration and restoring function
What this research means is that CBG was shown to essentially slow down the degeneration of neurological systems and potentially restore some function lost. This opens up potential future avenues in research, looking into combination therapies or even for sole CBG treatments.
The research is exciting, even if it’s only using mice models for now, it just goes to show that even now in the pharmaceutical heavy world, natural extracts could still have real impactful therapeutic potential.
If you or someone you know suffers from Huntington’s disease and wishes to try CBG, CBD or any whole cannabinoid extract, we recommend you always consult with a physician with knowledge of cannabinoids first to assess whether it would be best for you or whether it would interact with existing medications.
References
Valdeolivas, S., Navarrete, C., Cantarero, I., Bellido, M. L., Muñoz, E., & Sagredo, O. (2015). Neuroprotective properties of cannabigerol in Huntington’s disease: studies in R6/2 mice and 3-nitropropionate-lesioned mice. Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 12(1), 185–199.