This is an article created by Fundacion CANNA, a Spanish non-profit organization that carries out studies and conducts research on Cannabis and its active compounds. Its main focus is on Cannabis plants and their active compounds, related studies and scientific research, especially regarding its effects on the human body and mind and regarding Cannabis use and its derivatives. Fundación CANNA has it’s own laboratory where different kind of tests are performed.
This article will set out two types of secondary metabolites that are biosynthesised by the plant Cannabis sativa L. and probably produce synergy with the effects cannabinoids.
It is being observed that cannabinoids are not the only active substances in the Cannabis plant. Certain studies showed that there were differences between the effects produced by pure cannabinoids and the ones caused by the plant, although cannabinoids are administered in equal doses in both cases. These observations point to the existence of other active substances in the Cannabis plant, which have an intrinsic pharmacological action and/or can modify the pharmacological action of cannabinoids.
Two groups of active substances have been identified presently; terpenes and flavonoids, both of which appear in sufficient concentrations to have pharmacological activity. From a scientific perspective, neither which kind of specific compounds are capable of producing synergy with cannabinoids, nor how they are formed, have been proven. Both terpenes and flavonoids are under the increasing attention of the scientific and medical community due to their proven pharmacological actions. In the following paragraphs, we will try to show the current state of the studies about the biological and synergistic activity between these active substances and the cannabinoids.
