A Complete Guide to How THCA Works and Its Benefits
Cannabinoids THC and CBD are very popular among most individuals. The cannabinoid THC or 9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the more common one that provides users with a euphoria experience after consuming cannabis. Additionally, Cannabidiol (CBD) is also another cannabinoid that comes with a wide range of medicinal benefits; however, it doesn’t cause any form of ‘highness.’ Various cannabis studies and researchers reveal that we’ve got more than 150 phytocannabinoids and cannabinoids. With the numerous and continuous studies, you can easily get more information on the cannabis constituents like THCA.
Most cannabis experts refer to it as 9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, one of the cannabinoid acids from the marijuana plant. The cannabis plant produces certain components; geranyl pyrophosphate and olivetolic acid, when growing. Due to a condensation reaction, these acids break down, forming cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), which later converts into numerous cannabinoid acids like THCA, cannabichromenic (CBCA), and cannabidiol acid (CBDA). Read through this article to understand why the chemical process is vital for your medicinal needs.
Cannabinoids Acids
It's vital to understand that cannabis plants don't have pre-activated cannabinoids. However, the plants create these acids through the above process and later convert them for different medicinal uses in our bodies. During the decarboxylation process, which occurs when heating cannabis, the cannabinoid acids remove carboxylic acid rings from their molecular structure. The removal converts cannabinoid acids to cannabinoids, thus helping to produce consumers’ desired effects.
Apart from the typical cannabinoid acids, we also have some acid forms in the cannabis plants, but they have three carbon atoms, which experts refer to as varinoids. These acids are different from the other acids as they lack all the five carbon atoms present in the cannabinoid acids. When differentiating these acids, you can easily tell the varanoid they have a suffix 'varin' in their names. Additionally, when checking at the acids, those with one carbon molecule have the suffix ‘orocol.’ With the differences in the carbon atom numbers, it’s evident that these chemical compounds are very different.
We’ve got eight known varins and cannabinoid acids having their corresponding cannabinoids after conversion.
When having your raw cannabis, it comes with high contents of THCA and CBDA cannabinoid acid. Most potential THC in raw marijuana begins in THCA form, approximately 90%; then the other acid takes the other smaller amounts. Despite lacking any intoxicating effects, cannabinoid acids have numerous insecticide and antimicrobial resistance properties. These properties are essential to help the plant grow and produce cannabinoids in the plant’s trichomes.
Benefits of THCA
THCA is a non-psychoactive component of THC and comes with numerous medicinal and antimicrobial benefits. Despite most studies being at the beginning stages, we’ve got sufficient evidence to prove that this cannabis component comes with some health benefits and helps to alleviate certain symptoms. Below are some of the THCA benefits:
● It helps to reduce inflammation, as it has anti-inflammatory features
● Prevents prostate cancer in males by inhibiting tumor growth
● Works as an antiemetic when looking seeking nausea treatment
● Serves as a neuroprotectant to help protect your brain
● Effective for managing chronic pains
Several new medical researchers like ‘Cannabinoids and Cannabinoid Research reveal that when taken together with either CBD or THC, THCA can increase absorption of cannabinoids ingested in the human body. Therefore, for faster absorption of your ingested cannabinoids, it’ll be imperative to take a combination of CBD or THC. Nonetheless, when looking at its role in the human body’s endocannabinoid system, we still have confusion about whether THCA crosses your body’s blood-brain barrier or activates the CB1 receptor. Despite THCA contributing to beneficial entouring effects, researchers are yet to determine its long-term effects, drug interactions, and exact benefits.
THCA sources and How to Use it
It's usually easy to find THCA as most cannabis plant materials and flowers contain this marijuana component. It’ll be good to go for fresh plants and flowers as they have a high content of THCA. When purchasing your raw cannabis flowers or plants, it’ll be necessary to buy a lab-tested plant, as it indicates the THCA and THC percentage. Despite the different readings or recordings, these percentages mean the same things as THCA is an unconverted form of THC.
In addition, you can find high THC levels in products like tinctures, oils, balms, and transdermal patches. The most popular method of consuming raw cannabis leaves is juicing. Importantly, when choosing the appropriate method of getting more THCA benefits, experts advise that it’d be good to avoid any consumption method that involves heating. Heating will deprive you of most THCA health benefits and may also lead to numerous intoxicating effects. Alternatively, you can take a combination of decarbed CBD or THC to enhance THCA bioavailability and absorption.
Conclusion
Medicinal marijuana has numerous benefits to our body, such as acting as an inflammatory agent, inhibiting tumor growth, managing chronic pain, and many others. However, despite the exciting advantages and researchers, we still have a lot of things to learn about cannabis and all its valuable components. When studying marijuana, most individuals want to understand what the research results bring and all the possible cannabinoids effects. Importantly, pending the confirmation of the research results, it’ll be imperative to consult a medical expert or physician to get recommendations on the proper cannabis for you.
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