GABAA – TerpeneTargets

Rosemary Oil for Hair loss

This post explores the top terpenes in rosemary essential oil. What might be the mechanism of these terpenes promoting hair growth?

Carvacrol oregano oil

This post examines a report that oregano oil is a good treatment for foot pain. Carvacrol is a major terpene in oregano oil. Does carvcrol control pain pathways?

Terpinene

This post examines some biological actions and possible targets of four of the major terpenes in tea tree oil.

Turning the GABAA receptor off

This post explores the inactivation of the GABAA receptor. It’s regulation by PKA phosphorylation may be impacted by THC and CB1 activation. Some concluding thoughts on terpenes and the entourage effect are included.

Pulegol and Curcumol

Curcumol is isolated from roots of plants of the family Zingiberaceaegenus {1] Within that family is the G genus Curcumus. North Americans are familiar with this as the common turmeric. Wei and coworkers have published an excellent review on the potential of curcumol to treat various aspects of the cancer process. [1] Isopulegol is theContinue reading “Pulegol and Curcumol”

alpha-pinene

Which strains of cannabis that are a good source of α-pinene is difficult to determine. Of all of the terpenes in cannabis, the investigators at the John Hopkins University Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit is only considering the entourage of α-pinene and THC in their observational clinical trial. This post will make a case for α-pineneContinue reading “alpha-pinene”

Humulene

One of the first reports of a α-humulene comes from a company called Xenova in Slough Berkshire, UK. [1] Like many, they were looking for GABAA receptor modulators. “Recall that GABAA “receptors” are also chloride channels that, when open, lead to hyperpolarization and inhibition of neurotransmitter release. Benzodiazepines a class of modulators that increase theContinue reading “Humulene”

GABAA and PIP2

The purpose of this post is to explain some nuances of a publication suggesting that sesquiterpenes bind to the first transmembrane M1 domain of the α1 sub unit of GABAA. [1] The same group that provided the X-ray crystal structure for a neurosteroid binding site that Janzen et al used later published a paper showingContinue reading “GABAA and PIP2”

Guaiol

Sesquiterpenes are terpenes with the formula C15H24, hence the prefix “sesqui” Latin for 15. The featured study came out of Wuertzburg, Germany. These German authors extracted terpenes from hops and chamomile. [1] The extracts were subjected to a process to simulate digestion in the human gastrointestinal tract. β-Caryophyllene became β-caryophyllenol. Unlike many Asian studies reviewedContinue reading “Guaiol”

caryophyllene oxide

Caryophyllene oxide is produced when β-Caryophyllene is exposed to oxygen. The two structures of caryophyllene oxide come from ChEBI and PubChem. Folk medicine inspiration from the Brazilian Rain Forest Baccharis uncinella ,used by the Laklaño Indians, caught the attention of several groups in Brazil that included Laboratório de Etnofarmacologia. [1]. In their introduction the authorsContinue reading “caryophyllene oxide”