Lesson six, the biology of endocannabinoids. The recent discovery of cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid system has forced the scientific community to rethink how many of our most debilitating diseases function and how they can be treated. This lesson looks at the endocannabinoid system and how that can impact mammalian health and well being. The history. Well discovered in the 19th century scientific experimentation on the cannabinoids, THC, CBD and CBN first occurred in the 1940s. However, the scientific discovery of the mechanism of the incredible healing powers of cannabis is attributed to cannabis researcher Dr. Raphael metabolome at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, his team was the first to isolate and synthesize both the THC molecule and CBD in the 1960s.

This led to further research and in The mid 1980s Dr. Alan Hallett found evidence that two types of cannabinoid receptors exist CB one and CB two, the researchers went on to discover an entire network of cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors throughout the human body, which they call the endocannabinoid system or ECS. Thousands of studies now show that the endocannabinoid system is just as important as any other system when it comes to mammalian health. After cannabinoids were discovered to have such a vital role in mammalian biology, the US government patented them in 1999. Their goal was to provide a whole new class of non psychoactive antioxidant drugs that have particular use as neuroprotective agents. The patent states that can happen noids have been found to have antioxidant properties which is useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of age related inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. They further study stated that cannabinoids are neuro protectant, which can help in limiting neurological damage following stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia.

What the ECS does. The primary role of the ECS is the regulation of homeostasis. homeostasis is defined as the body's ability to maintain stable internal conditions that are necessary for survival. The ECS helps keep the body's hormones in balance. The endocrine system impacts her entire organism, which is why it's dysfunction and imbalance may lead to a variety of diseases related to the immune and nervous systems. In addition cannabinoids impact neurotransmitters which are hormones that transmit signals from one neuron or brain cell to another neuron or a muscle cell or a plant cell, cannabinoid receptors, cannabinoids as well.

Terpenes are chemicals that provide effects by inserting themselves into receptors in the tissues and cells of the endocannabinoid system, like the lock and key. cb one receptors in the central nervous system combined with nerve cells in the brain and central nervous system to help regulate the body's biochemistry endocannabinoids and Phyto cannabinoids bind to these receptor points. THC possesses a very high binding affinity with CB one receptors in the brain, central nervous system connective tissues, gonads glands and related organs. cb two receptors are found primarily in the peripheral nervous system and in areas of the immune system, specifically on white blood cells in the tonsils, the thymus gland and the spleen. They are also common in the brain but not as densely as the CB one cites and occur in the gastrointestinal system in high concentrations. The intestines are responsible for about 80% of the immune system.

And this is where CB two sites modulate the intestinal inflammatory response, the entourage effect. In 2011, Dr. Ethan Russo, a preeminent cannabis researcher coined the term the entourage effect to explain the synergy of the various compounds in the cannabis plant and how in combination, they seem to create a greater response in the body than the individual components do alone. This is a phenomenon that can be seen in other nutrient compounds as well. For example, Dr. Linus Pauling did tremendous research on vitamin C or ascorbic acid and won a Nobel Prize for his research. But with the discovery of bioflavonoids or citrus complex, the true value of vitamin C was understood. bioflavonoids are co factors that work synergistically with ascorbic acid to create greater benefits than Just ascorbic acid alone.

The same is true for cannabinoids and terpenes. While the majority of the research done over the last 20 years has been on either THC or CBD isolate, we are just now discovering the benefits of the complex of compounds in the cannabis plant.