Tanya Milin
What is CBDA?
CBDA stands for cannabidiol acid. It has not made much of its rounds in the market but it is beginning to create quite a stir. It is expected to change the outlook of managing long-standing pain by its revolutionary mechanism of action.
This compound has not only shown improvements for the bedridden but also for the apparently normal healthy individuals as well. It not only boosts the immune system but has also been shown to inhibit the growth of certain cancers. With much more to be known about this miraculous compound, ongoing research and studies are being carried out to determine its full potential.
What is CBDA and where does it come from?
CBDA is an active component found in the plant of cannabis. However, it has nothing to do with the state of ‘intoxication’, as most would suspect. The reason for that is pretty simple and basic; the main psychoactive compound that registers the body to get ‘high’ is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in the cannabis plant and not CBDA.
CBDA is actually the acidic form of CBD (cannabinoid) that is found in fresh or raw cannabis. Both of them are far away from producing any grade of intoxication.
The science behind CBDA and chronic pain
Contrary to popular belief, pain is not generally a bad entity; it helps to localize the damage and becomes an indicator of what might be going wrong in the body. However, pain that persists for a long duration and stays there for life cannot be considered a blessing.
Pain that stays for more than three months is considered ‘chronic' and deeply affects the quality of life of a person experiencing it. Its sufferers are seen to have a sedentary life with almost nothing to look forward to, in the long run.
There are a lot of diseases to date, that causes chronic pain; such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, etc. Hence over the centuries, many new drugs have been introduced in the market to help alleviate it, but everything has come up with a cost of side-effects, with nothing too outstanding to say the least.
The main pathway of pain includes the enzyme; cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2) that releases prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are the main initiators of activating the pain pathway. However, there is another pathway that is regulated by COX1, which produces prostacyclins, this compound is a powerful vasodilator and helps prevent clots in the blood vessels. This ultimately saves a person from having strokes.
Since these two products get formed side by side, a lot of medications that have been introduced to block or inhibit the COX-2 pathway, have most often disturbed the COX-1 pathway as well. This has turned fatal for the patients as they have endured a serious risk of getting strokes.
This is where CBDA came into play. According to excessive researches and studies being carried out, CBDA has proved to be a selective COX-2 inhibitor, which means that it only inhibits the pain pathway and stops the inflammatory prostaglandins, without inhibiting or causing any changes in the COX-1 pathway.
Other alternatives for the management of pain are our extremely overused drugs in the market; nothing other than the NSAIDs. These medicines are not just responsible for causing kidney problems but also become a serious threat to patients of old age, as it increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeds to a remarkable extent. This is one of the biggest complications of NSAIDs and its excessive use for chronic pain. Hence, scientists and doctors had been on the lookout for something with lesser side-effects, little did they know that nature had its very own plant containing this element.
How is CBDA different from CBD and why is it preferred for treating long-term pain?
CBDA after going through the process of decarboxylation gets converted to CBD. CBD has been in the market for quite some time now and it has also shown promising results in the treatment of anxiety, epilepsy, reducing weight and whatnot. It has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory precursors and hence can be used for the management of pain. However, when it comes to comparing CBD with CBDA, the choice becomes pretty simple and transparent.
CBDA is a much more potent anti-hyperalgesic than CBD. The answer lies in the core structure of the compound itself. It has a carboxylic moiety that becomes the key element in inhibiting the COX-2 pathway, whereas, CBD just mimics the activity of the endogenously produced endocannabinoids and ultimately affects the endocannabinoid system inside the body.
CBDA however, has the same structure as the endogenous compound that inhibits the pain pathway and gives an almost equal effect as the opioids themselves. To manage pain, CBDA works twice more effectively than CBD. A study that was conducted in Canada showed that CBDA was at least a thousand times more potent than CBD. Also, it could easily bind to specific serotonin receptors that also acted as a great mood stabilizer.
CBD, however, is a much more stable compound and has its own set of benefits. It has not only shown marked progress in the field of neurology but has also shown to be helpful for diabetics. Moreover, it is also thought to be therapeutic for patients of epilepsy. It has also seen to alleviate inflammation. The way CBD works is because of its amazing anticholinergic properties, which makes it clear as to how it helps counter anxiety and also decreases the occurrence of epileptic seizures.
CBDA Can Be Helpful For The Young And The Old
The great company CTFO, has managed to make patented products that include not just CBDA and CBD as part of their ingredients. These not just offer pain relief, but some of their products offer anti-aging as well as health-protective benefits.
Two of its very promising products have been briefly discussed. However, it is advised not to start on any of them without your doctor/physician’s approval.
10X PURE GOLD / SUPER 1000 CBD OIL DROPS
CTFO (Changing the future outcome) stands true to its name as it has formulated a variety of products that contain CBDA, 10x Super Gold 1000 is one of them. This product contains CBDA in an oil emulsion; it is super absorbent as it is hydrophilic. It can be applied very easily at the site of pain. Since it is a product that can be applied topically, anyone using it has nothing to worry about having long term side effects.
The biggest hallmark that CTFO has made is by making CBDA ‘stable.’ The reason why CBDA wasn’t as popular in the medical world as it is becoming now is that CBDA was highly unstable. It almost automatically got converted to CBD. A little amount of heat, air or pressure was enough to cause its transformation and hence decreased its medicinal value. CTFO however, packaged it in capsules, tinctures, creams and oil emulsions making sure that it does not change its form.
The 10x Super Gold 1000 is not just for the sick and patients suffering from debilitating illnesses but can be used by anyone who wishes to stay healthy. It has shown to boost energy levels and act as a prebiotic. This does not only ensure a healthy body but also prevents any possible illness catching up by boosting up the immune system up a notch.
10x PURE Gold Roll-On
Another amazing product that CTFO has introduced is the 10x Pure Gold Roll-On. It contains a mixture of ingredients that only makes it one of the best pain relief roll-ons to exist. It not only contains CBDA but also contains 500mgs of CBD. With their synergistic effect, relief from chronic pain can be achieved in a much shorter duration.
All the ingredients that are packaged in the 10x Pure Gold Roll-On, not just have their own benefits but together they work in miraculous ways as it contains emu oil, warming camphor as well as menthol.
Emu oil is a well known anti-inflammatory agent that not only moisturizes the skin but also leaves an anti-aging effect on it. Camphor is one of its active ingredients that help tone down swelling at much faster rates. Menthol present in this aids not just by providing a cooling effect to the part of the area inflamed, but it also helps increase the blood flow towards the area, so that healing can take place more efficiently.
The 10x Pure Gold Roll-On is packaged in a way that it does not get destroyed by heat, sunlight, air or by any other environmental factor so that all the elements that reside inside of it remain safe from destruction.
The fact that this can be applied at the site of pain makes it all the more convenient. Since, its topically applied, anyone using it has nothing to worry about any kind of idiopathic reactions that may take place, making it one of the best products to make the never-ending pain, if not disappear, then decrease to a considerable amount.
Conclusion
CBDA and CBD are not very different from each other. Both these products have changed the outlook of managing many chronic diseases that previously didn’t have any promising treatments. The discovery of these compounds shows great potential in treating the ones suffering alone.
A trial conducted in Canada by the Department of Psychology and Collaborative Neuroscience Program, tested on rodents and results of it proved that CBDA worked for not just chronic but also in acute pain conditions as well. A study has also put forth that CBDA has shown to halt the process of breast cancer spread. A lot more trials and studies are underway to completely confirm the theory but it does shed a lot of light on the ones who have lost all hope.
This magical drug has yet to get its approval by the FDA, but as soon as that happens it will be one of the biggest hallmarks in the history of science, for extracting something so beneficial from the plant of cannabis.
As many more studies will see the light of the day, it's only then we can tell how safe the use of CBDA and CBD will be. It hasn't been shown to present with any extreme side-effects as of yet. It is, however, not advised to start using products containing either CBD or CBDA without a doctor’s approval.
References
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