Chemical Constituents of Cannabis

From the book Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential by Franjo Grotenhermen and Ethan Russo. It's on page 28.

Code:

Chemical Class                                 Known

Cannabinoids                                      66
Nitrogenous compounds                             27
Amino acids                                       18
Proteins, glycoproteins, and enzymes              11
Sugars and related compounds                      34
Hydrocarbons                                      50
Simple alcohols                                   7
Simple aldehydes                                  12
Simple ketones                                    13
Simple acids                                      21
Fatty acids                                       22
Simple esters and lactones                        13
Steroids                                          11
Terpenes                                          120
Noncannabinoid phenols                            25
Flavonoids                                        21
Vitamins                                          1
Pigments                                          2
Elements                                          9

TOTAL                                             483

Trivia question...

Which vitamin is known?

Plains

Vitamin K

Hey plainsman1963, since you know about growing weed, do you ever deal with terpenes and flavonoids in the plant? I was reading about it and apparently there can be several benefits to those suckers (such as reduce memory loss, block the carcinogenesis caused by benz[a]anthracene, and anti-inflammatory effects). Marijuana that is rich in terpenoids is found to be relatively free of contamination from bacteria and fungi (I'll have to throw that last part in the thread about marijuana and mold).

It seems that these noncannabinoids are quite beneficial. I'll have to write about it sometime.

I think we have a different definition of "know".

I know enough to stick it in the soil and water and feed it, provide it light and the plant is nice enough to provide me with bud.

Once we get into Cannaboids and receptors, auxin's and Cytokinins , this dirt farmers eyes start to glaze over and I begin to drool.

I enjoy reading about it, but don't have a thing to contribute.
Out of my paygrade.

Plains

A link

This is along the same lines, just HTML formatted and what not.. have a look

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/general/thc1.htm

Unfortunately, the study in the link is starting to show it's age. We've discovered some more compounds in cannabis over time. Other than than, it's pretty good.

plainsman1963, oh well, it was worth a shot.

Heh, ya, go 1982!

I dunno, at least they havn't removed any that it says are in there

I like to think some things get better with age... 1982 was a good year for me

Not that unlike the anti-pot studies, this one is still relatively accurate ... out of date...but accurate!

Hugz,

I found this interesting about Terpenes.. Its a strong Cleanser..... LOl.. Marijuana can be made into a disinfectant.. Mr Green....

http://clean.rti.org/alt.cfm?id=tp&cat=ov

Terpene or Turpentine...and actually, wouldn't terpenes in cannabis have their own name; for example, limonene is a liquid terpene found in lemons or other essential oils, so maybe we should call cannabis terpenes by cannaterpenes! Heh, excuse me, but I'm high

So, are they all the same either in the plant state or smoked state? Or are there chemical changes that take place as the cannabis is burned thus producing other chemicals and/or changing the chemical make-up?

peace

I Don't know why I didn't stumble on this sooner. 1982, thats some pretty old data, a year older then I am. I've been doing a little research on plant chemistry. Plant hormones, phytochemicals, terpenes, volitile chemicals, fungus, bacteria... all the things that would make ones eyes glaze over.

*Plant hormones regulate cell growth in the plant
*Phytochemicals create the pigment, and smell, which attributes the resistances in the plant...
*Terpenes and Volitile chemicals- Im wondering if theres a big difference between these two and phytochemicals. They all act as defense mechanisms in plants.

Its all the names and lables that make it so confusing. The purpose of these chemicals is to ultimately ensure the survival of the plant. Plants use chemistry to form relationships with other organisms in nature. In the rainforest every tree has its own strain of fungus, which helps it collect and bring nutrients. Each tree had to forge the relationship by using their chemistry, enzymes in their roots, to change the genetic structure of the
fungus.
Are your eyes glazed over yet?

Stephanie,
Burning the plant material will undoubtedly cause a chemical change. The very action of burning is oxidation of the organic plant material by oxygen. Fortunately, complete combustion does not occur (if it did, all we'd be left with is water and carbon dioxide).

Honey child...my eyes glazed over when you said THIS:

.

oy...

Have a

The data on Marijuana's chemical components is still incomplete.
Well, this data is somewhat useful. We know that cannabis has many different chemical components, but what we don't know is what their purpose is. We didn't have the technology available to us in the 1980s to study these components, were just now developing the sort of technology to unlock what these chemicals do. The problem is , the DEA wants to use this technology to find and eradicate cannabis from our ecosystem. The sensor is made to detect and study particles, hormones diffused in the scent of Marijuana.
So what are these chemicals actually doing, what is their purpose. What would the DEA want us to think? Marijuana is spreading volitile chemicals throughout our ecosystem, its spreading plant pests and disease. When actually it may be doing just the oppoisite. This information is highly valuable, and if kept a secret it can provide alot of money to scientists who unlock its secrets.

You see, theres a chance agricultural companies such as Monsanto and Dupont can make alot of money by creating problems in nature. By secretly putting genetically engineered viruses and disease into farmers crops, and then patenting the solution, a genetically engineered crop these companies can monopolize... but thats another topic

What are these volitile chemicals actually doing? Well since we don't have the research on Marijuana, we could look at what we have on other organisms. Plants release these chemicals for many different reasons. They use them to communicate with their environment. In order to survive and adapt, plants must be able to sense, and utilize their environment. These chemicals are a connection to the other organisms around them. There is evidence that plants use these chemicals to communicate and form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. They use this chemistry to do just that.

Look at how plants shape the world around them.
Tobacco, corn, and cotton have a volitile chemical that can summon a wasp to lay eggs/kill in caterpillers munching on them.

In the rainforest, trees must form a relationship with fungus to bring nutrients to their roots. Each tree has its own version of fungus, this shows that the tree has to change the fungus, so its adapted to do the tree's work.

Certain plants in the rainforest have Ants specially adapted to protect the plant. There are many different species of ants for the various plants they protect, and the ants are specialized for the type of work that they do. Ants use pharamones-a chemical hormone- to communicate. These chemicals seem to be made up of the same chemicals in plants, or the organisms they eat. Other plants cultivate aphids, aphids are also known for spreading plant viruses.

What do all these organisms have in common? They all have a chemical signature of their own. A volitle chemical, or pharamone, hormone, whatever you want to call it. There all designed to do the same thing, communicate.

Caterpillar wasps
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/1998/981002.htm
Rainforest nutrient cycling with fungus
http://www.mongabay.com/0502.htm
Symbiotic relationships
http://biology.arizona.edu/sciconn/lessons2/Shindelman/teacher/Page5.htm

Ah Pah....
Im beating around the bush, now I know why Darwin kept his info to himself untill he was fully organized. Blah... Well all this has a point, more research needs to be done before I can express it.

What a mess

I think I managed to make everyones eyes glaze over.

Theres some evidence that smoke from certain burning plants drives away pests and makes them more pest resistant. The native americans have been known to burn plants like tobacco and other various plants to control pests.
I was listening to a girl at Washington University talk about how plants in a burn site (where they burned litter on the forest floor) were more pest resistant.

Heres how they kept the pests out of the Native American cotton.

A plant called Mastrante
He grew it in a row next to his native cotton plants to control a pest called the cotton stainer (Dysdercus peruvianus). The old farmer did this by periodically cutting down several mastrante plants, drying them in the sun and, when the wind was right, igniting them. Pungent smoke from the desiccated shrubs wafted through the cotton fields, instantly driving out the cotton stainers, which ruin cotton by puncturing the seeds, releasing oils that stain the boll.

H'loo people

Hi guys -- just stumbled upon this place (what took me so long? ask me after the smoke clears, lol) a few minutes ago; I must say that this is an interesting forum!

As for Chemical reactions from burning et all, yes you do in fact change the chemical make-up of whatever you "burn;" however, when you "burn" a plant, you are not necessarily oxidizing every chemical in the plant, as many different chemicals have different prefered oxidation states (they burn at different temp's)... as to which chemicals in marijuana you are oxidizing and which you are not, I'm not sure. The concept of "complete" or incomplete combustion refers only to the byproducts of things that are oxidized in the first place. That in itself would be a worthy research study... to find which chemicals present in marijuana are left unaffected by the oxidation process of the plant! so, uhhh.... you guys get on that!

And to note, the DEA is not the only fascist group trying to eradicate this positive plant from our sight... the FDA has a string of crimes attached to its moral/ethical record that goes beyond marijuana! Look at hemp -- for Jeebus' sake they outlawed HEMP in the same fell swordstroke! Henry ford had a concept car once that was constructed almost entirely of hemp, including a type of fiber glass (as itwere) that was comparable in strength to the sheetmetal we use today, only many times lighter... and it ran on hemp constituents as well. Did the FDA care? nope -- it's a "drug," in the same family as cannabis, cannabis; and since we classified that as a CLASS1 narcotic, -=away with it=- we say! *vomits spectacularly*

hey, mommabudz (or any of you kindly peepz)-- you seem rife with knowledge about these things, and I have need of an answer... my poor friend actually has mononucleosis, and I'm going to visit him soon. I know in the end it's not healthy for him to smoke while sick, but does anyone know of a violent reaction or serious short-term effect of smoking marijuana while you have mono? From my personal exp., it takes me longer to get better if I smoke when I'm sick at all, but nothing 'bad' has ever happened to me -- then again, I've never had mono before, lol. Your thoughts? help a guy out.
oh, and one last thing.... 1982 was a -great- year, mommabudz!! I still wasn't in school yet and had nothing better to do with my day than dream up the crap I revisit now with the aid of our illustrious plant-friend! ummm, I was my own inti-drug? or something...? hehehe.
Peace,
~Michael

whoa, whoa hold on. it contains steroids? wtf???? dun they shrink ur balls???

It's not those kinda steroids. Your balls aren't gonna shrink.