What Is CBDA?
You may already be familiar with CBD, or cannabidiol, but CBDA is something different. Cannabidiolic acid comes from the cannabis and hemp plants that contain high CBD levels. CBDA is actually a precursor to CBD. When CBDA is exposed to heat, a process known as decarboxylation, it becomes CBD.
Both CBDA and CBD both stem from CBGA or cannabigerolic acid. CBGA converts into three compounds depending on which plant enzymes are activated. It can produce THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), CBCA (cannabichromenic acid), or CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), all of which are being studied for their health benefits.
British-based GW Pharmaceuticals recently filed for two patents for the use of CBDA in medical preparations. They suggest it may have value for inflammatory skin conditions. GW Pharmaceuticals already manufactures a pharmaceutical-grade CBD oil under the trade name Epidiolex, which has become the first cannabis-derived drug to be approved by the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In animal studies CBDA has shown good results for such conditions as nausea and vomiting, inflammation, anxiety and depression, epilepsy and breast cancer. It is important to stress that these findings came from pre-clinical, animal studies, usually involving rats and mice.
In one study on mice, scientists found that CBDA affected serotonin levels which is a neurotransmitter vital to motor skills, eating, sleeping, digestion and emotions. Another study found that CNBA had anti-inflammatory effects similar to those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS.
Since CBDA interacts with serotonin, there is belief in the scientific community that it may work as well as antidepressants for depression.
Only time and a lot of high-quality research will be able to suggest that CBDA can become a true pharmaceutical-grade hemp-based medicine for a number of conditions discussed above. Human studies will have to be performed before any recommendations can be made. For now, all we have are studies based on mice and rats. At least it’s a start.
