THCP AND CANNABIS: IS IT REALLY BOOSTED THC? LET’S BE CLEAR.
We know that it is possible to order light marijuana in Italy, and receive it at home . And we know that, unlike traditional cannabis, it is a product very poor in THC, a psychotropic cannabinoid, and rich in CBD, non-psychotropic and highly beneficial for the body.
What we do not know are the details on numerous other active ingredients present in cannabis, as there are over 500 of them. One of these is THCP, recently discovered by some Italian researchers .
THCP (TetraHydroCannabiPhorol) was discovered by analyzing a variety of medical cannabis grown in Italy, namely FM2 supplied by the Military Pharmaceutical Chemical Plant of Florence.
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What the THCP study conducted by Italian researchers says
The THCP study, published in the journal Nature , would be a rather trivial finding if it weren’t for its nearly identical structure to THC, but 33 times more potent. It also interacts with the same areas of the endocannabinoid system of our brain.
What scientific research has shown in recent decades is that there are over 150 naturally occurring phytocannabinoids in the cannabis plant, but most have not yet been completely isolated by researchers or have not been precisely classified.
Among those known are the CBD and THC in receiving more attention from both scholars from cannabis enthusiasts. In fact, CBD (cannabidiol) has numerous beneficial effects including painkillers, antiemetics and anticonvulsants.
THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is instead the psychoactive principle of cannabis, which determines states of euphoria but also interacts in other ways with our brain, for example by relaxing the muscles.
Both are present in medical cannabis, illegal cannabis and light marijuana. If the first two tend to have high concentrations of THC, the “light” version instead has very low percentages of THC (maximum 0.5%) and high amounts of CBD.
However, each cannabis strain (from Gorilla Glue to White Widow, from Lemon Haze to Mango Kush and many more) has unique effects. And THCP is probably one of the reasons why the effects of different cannabis strains vary so dramatically.
It is for this reason that it is very important to conduct an accurate chemical profile of cannabis and its applications through in-depth investigation and study, especially when it comes to potential uses for the phytocannabinoids it contains.
The conduct of the research regarding THCP, phytocannabinoid of Cannabis Sativa L.
Despite being a new discovery, THCP has been successfully isolated by researchers, allowing them to classify and even artificially reproduce it.
As we mentioned earlier, the team used an Italian cannabis strain called FM2, which had a particularly low THC concentration of around 3.9% .
Over the course of the study, the researchers tested THCP’s ability to bind to cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. This phytocannabinoid was found to successfully bind to CB1 receptors at 33 times faster than THC, just as it binds to CB2 receptors at six times faster than THC.
Given these results , THCP appears to be the most potent natural cannabinoid known to date.
However, the tests were carried out only on mice, so it is necessary to wait some time before having certain answers regarding the effects of THCP on the human brain and its use in the medical field. Further studies and experiments are needed in order to affirm or deny the therapeutic potential of THCP.
It should also be noted that the research has been conducted on medical cannabis, which has THC concentrations higher than 3%.
Therefore it is not yet clear what are the percentages of THCP present in light cannabis and if the cannabinoid causes any effect following the intake of weakened marijuana.
Not just THCP: Italian researchers have also discovered CBDP, a cannabinoid similar to CBD.
The Italian researchers have also discovered the phytocannabinoid closest to CBD, known as CBDP or Cannabidipurol , although at the moment they have not been able to test it thoroughly on mice.
For this reason, the effects of CBDP are still unknown, but we can speculate that it may be a stronger alternative to CBD . However, there are several ongoing studies dedicated to the type of pharmacological activity and physiological properties of CBDP.
The study is part of a project called UNIHEMP (Use of Industrial Hemp biomass for Energy and new Biochemicals Production) funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the European Regional Development Fund.
We are therefore very satisfied with the results obtained by the Italian researchers and for the moment we are satisfied with the discovery of THCP, hoping that future studies affirm that it can be applied in the pharmacological field!