Tetrahydrocannabivarinic Acid, or simply THCVA, is a prominent cannabinoid found largely within marijuana. With cannabinoids being the center of many major medical studies these days, it is important to cover all aspects of what they are, and how they work.
Today’s cannabinoid journal entry is all about THCVA.
WHAT IS DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABIVARINIC ACID (THCVA)?
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA) is an acidic compound found in the cannabis plant (marijuana). It is the acidic form of THCV. It shares the same parents with THCV and carboxylic acid. THCVA, like THCA, is one of the very few cannabinoids currently being mass produced.
Related: CBD vs CBN
The sales and use of marijuana is illegal in some countries, but this hasn’t dissuaded the increase of these compounds on the market.
Cannabinoids became even more popular once the Farm Bill of 2018 legalized CBD. CBD was discovered some 80 years ago by researchers. Today, there are about 125 different cannabinoids that have been discovered. THCVA, discovered not so long ago, comes from the oxidation of THCV. There is currently no concrete record to tell when, how, or who discovered the THCVA compound.
Related: What is Delta 9?
THCVA is formed from the CBGVA cannabinoid. THC, CBN, CBT, THCV, and other constituents of the cannabis plant are said to stem from the continuous oxidation of CBGVA.
The isolation of THCVA from other plant chemicals is not as hard as isolating other cannabinoids. Its features and functionalities, like THCV, give it a high level of interest compared to the other cannabidiols that exist.
How Does THCVA Work?
There are relatively few published articles or findings on the mechanisms by which this compound performs. We currently know little about how THCVA interacts with cannabinoid receptors.
Related: How Long Does Delta 8 THC Stay In Your System?
More research will, eventually, be published, and at that point in time we’ll know a bit more about how tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid works.
Possible Benefits of THCVA
Some research points to the fact that THCVA can act as a type of anti-inflammatory. While the study this finding was published in is comprehensive, it did not do a good enough job of isolating the different bodily responses by different cannabinoids.
Related: What is CBN?
In order to get a concrete understanding of how each individual cannabinoid works, you need to isolate them in the body, and use proper control measures.
INTERESTING FACTS
- Its formula is C19H24O4.
- Its molar mass is 330.4 g/mol.
- THCVA has a hydrogen bond donor count of 2, hydrogen bond acceptor count of 4, and a rotatable bond count of 3.
- By annotation, the THCVA compound is similar to altenuene, atranorin, quinquanguline & delta (9)-Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.
References
National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 59444416, delta9-Tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid.
Husni, Afeef, “Optimization and Development of In Vitro Bioassays to Determine Structure-Activity Relationships for Cannabinoid Receptor 1 and Cannabinoid Receptor 2” (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1459.
Karniol IG, Shirakawa I, Takahashi RN, Knobel E, Musty RE (1975). “Effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinol in man”. Pharmacology. 13 (6): 502–12. doi:10.1159/000136944.
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