Terpene and lipid interactions: Not uncharted territory Terpene interactions with phospholipids in cell membranes and how those phospholipids communicate with receptors in those membranes is a bit of an unknown. However…. We already know more than we may realize just from the history of terpene use as transdermal permeablity enhancers. Trans dermal delivery of drugsContinue reading “Terpenes and cell membranes”
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The THC Tetrad
This post will bounce back and forth between a THC study with a CB1 knock out mouse [1] and a terpene study from Michael Streicher’s laboratory [2] The post will quickly examine some membrane biophysics studies that back up some of the perplexing terpene results and offer new clues of CB1 receptor dynamics.This post willContinue reading “The THC Tetrad”
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”
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”
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”
geranyl acetate
Three related compounds Geranyl acetate and geraniol good medicines or benign food additives? It’s impossible to comment on the former in a manner that the FDA would approve. This post will compare a study showing that geranyl acetate and geraniol induce apoptosis in a cell culture model with rodent toxicology tests. The conclusion is ofContinue reading “geranyl acetate”
Camphor
According to PubChem, the best source of of campor is the Camphor tree Cinnamomum camphora. Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis L. may contain 10-20% camphor. Camphor is only one of many terpenes found in basil, or Ocimum species. Scientists from South Africa have published an interesting review on the historic use of camphor throughout the world. Natural camphor,Continue reading “Camphor”
Turning TRPV1 off
How can something like capsaicin of chili pepper fame/infame hurt like bloody hell and then have analgesic properties? We have covered the TRP family of Ca2+ channels on a page on this site. Nature has given us a negative feedback mechanism byway of a small Ca2+ modulated protein that we call calmodulin, of CaM forContinue reading “Turning TRPV1 off”
Myrcene, Terpenes, and TrpV1
This study came out of the laboratory of experimental medicine in Honolulu Hawaii. As a general background it might be worth while to review Ca2+-calmodulin inhibition of this Ca2+ channel and and Trp family overview. This group selected myrcene and and a mixture of strain inspired terpenes. The latter was identified as dominant terpenes inContinue reading “Myrcene, Terpenes, and TrpV1”
Medical Cannabis WIthdrawal
Today Yahoo News published a piece by Lara Coughlin, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan. Of the medical cannabis users this group interviewed, 59% were using for pain. The Yahoo News piece mentioned these symptoms of cannabis withdrawal sleep difficulties irritability anxiety This terpenetargets has reviewed a few papers on endocannabinoids and running. TheseContinue reading “Medical Cannabis WIthdrawal”
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