Definitions

General

  • 50/50 CBD +CBDA – two natural supplements, cannabidiol and cannabidolic acid combined together to create cannabinoid rich products.
  • Anti-inflammatory – (or anti-inflammatory) is the property of a substance or treatment that reduces inflammation or swelling. Anti-inflammatory drugs make up about half of analgesics, remedying pain by reducing inflammation.
  • Autoimmune disease – An autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. The immune system normally guards against germs like bacteria and viruses. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them. Normally, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your own cells. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. The following are common autoimmune diseases: Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic lupus, erythematosus (lupus), Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)Multiple sclerosis (MS), Guillain-Barre syndrome, Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, Psoriasis.
  • Capsule – solid pill form with the supplement enclosed in a hard water soluble shell.
  • CBD – cannabidiolCannabidiol is the non-psychotrophic (non-euphoric) cannabinoid found in hemp. It has significant beneficial properties such as relief of anxiety, stress reduction, anti-seizureneuroprotectiveanti-inflammatory, and pain relief among other benefits being researched.
  • CBDA – cannabidiolic acid is the chemical cannabinoid which occurs naturally in the plant. It is found in the resin glands (trichomes) of the hemp plant. It is the precursor of cannabidiol (CBD). CBDA is transformed into CBD by heating.
  • CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The US agency responsible for tracking and investigating public health trends. They provide many tools and resources for cannabis use.
  • cGMP – current good manufacturing practices. (See “GMP” below.) Instructs supplement manufacturers that they must employ technologies and systems that are up-to-date in order to comply with specific regulations from the FDA.
  • DEA – Drug Enforcement Agency. A government agency that deals with drug abuse and drug smuggling in the US. The DEA regulates cannabis, but not plant material that is considered to be hemp.
  • FDA – US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is responsible for protecting public health regarding food, tobacco, and other products. They regulate and approve drug products for medical use.
  • FSE – full spectrum extract. An extracted oil containing all of the cannabinoids found in the original plant.
  • GMP – good manufacturing practices. The manufacturing of product with safety and quality to avoid contamination, given by the FDA (see above) under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
  • Hemp– or industrial hemp, a cannabis derived product in which the plant contained less than 0.3 % THC, which is genetically distinct from marijuana and is used in a wide variety of products such as foods, beverages, personal care products, nutritional supplements, and many others.
  • Lotiontopical product that is also a moisturizer that is rubbed onto your skin to be absorbed.
  • Massage Oil topical product that is oil based and facilitates massage.
  • MMJ – medical marijuana/cannabis. The cannabis or cannabis products that are recommended to patients by doctors to treat a variety of ailments.
  • THC – tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is the most common cannabinoid in recreational marijuana and the most common psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
  • THCA – tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Different from THC! This is a non-psychoactive compound found in raw and live cannabis. THCA slowly converts to THC as the cannabis plant dries, and heat expedites this process when flower is smoked or vaped.
  • Tincture–dietary supplement containing an active ingredient that comes in liquid form usually take sublingually.

Technical

  • 2-Archidonoylglycerol (2-AG) – an endocannabinoid (natural cannabinoid) and an endogenous (internal to the organism) agonist of the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2).  A signaling lipid in the central nervous system that is a key regulator of neurotransmitter release.
  • acetylating – enzymatic addition of acetyl group that causes COX to be inhibited; the addition of a small molecule that turns off the process that causes swelling and pain in an area and is the mechanism used by NSAIDs (like ibuprofen).
  • adenosine reuptake – the process of neurons re-capturing adenosine as a neurotransmitter.
  • agonism – agonists are signaling molecules that bind their corresponding receptor(s) causing activation, as opposed to antagonism that inhibits action.
  • amisulpride – anti-schizophrenia drug that is the most widely used.
  • amyloid precursor protein – β-amyloid buildup is a main aspect of Alzheimer’s disease and their precursor proteins are novel drug targets.
  • anandamide – endogenous endocannabinoid that binds THC receptors and is broken down by FAAH to become prostaglandins; this is a naturally occurring molecule that is a precursor to prostaglandins that are thought to be regulated by CBD.
  • analgesic pathway – the alleviation of pain without the sedative effects of anesthesia, and the neuropathways involved in regulation of pain.
  • analgesic – decreased pain without sedative effects.
  • anandamide signaling competition – competition of CBD and anandamide binding fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs), causes the modular regulation of prostaglandins and other downstream endocannabinoids.
  • anandamide signaling competition – how CBD is able to interact with CB1 and CB2 by competing with the naturally occurring endocannabinoid anandamide.
  • antioxidant – decreases the amount of reactive oxygen species that can damage healthy cells.
  • anxiolytic – anti-anxiety
  • apoptosis – programmed cell death that helps keep the organism as a whole healthy.
  • Arachidonic acid (AA) Arachidonic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid present in the phospholipids (especially phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositides) of membranes of the body’s cells, and is abundant in the brain, muscles, and liver and is regulated by Phospholipase AS(PLA2) that steroids target to inhibit inflammation; archidonic acid- cell membrane fatty acid that is cleaved by COX to become eicosinoids that play into homeostasis and the immune system of the endocannabinoid system.
  • attenuation – reduction of the negative effects of something, for example: CBD attenuates arthritis by decreasing swelling as well as mitigating progression of arthritis.
  • autacoids – hormone-like lipid signaling molecule (Ex: prostaglandins)
  • autocrine/paracrine signaling – autocrine is self signaling, and paracrine signals to adjacent cells; prostaglandins both signal to the cell that made them as a feedback loop and also signal to adjacent cells.
  • β2-adrenergic signaling – causes bronchodilation and smooth muscle dilation, how asthma medications work by calming the lungs through dilation.
  • β-amyloid microglia activation – would be the activation of the microglial to phagocytose the β-amyloid that causes Alzheimer’s.
  • biphasic immunological regulation – biphasic implies that there are phases to the amplifications and then ramping down of the immune system that happens naturally, prostaglandins are thought to be biphasic due to their multimodal actions and their part in both phases.
  • chemokine – cytokine with chemo-attractive component that directs/recruits leukocytes.
  • cholinergic neurons – neurons that mainly signal with acetylcholine (Ex: sleep).
  • cyclooxygenase-1, COX-1 –  acetylated enzyme that creates prostanoids (mediators of inflammatory and anaphylactic reactions) affiliated with homeostatic regulation (autocrine/paracrine); the negative aspects of Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (like ibuprofen) cause ulcers by also inhibiting those protective effects.
  • cyclooxygenase-2, COX-2 – enzyme responsible for lipoxin production that helps resolve inflammation, this is the main target for anti-inflammatorys that will not cause gastrointestinal (GI) distress (like ibuprofen) that stop inflammation and decrease pain.
  • cytochrome P450 family – a major enzymatic pathway that is responsible for most toxins and drug clearance
  • cytokine– leukotriene signaling molecules like TNF-α.
  • decarboxylation – the heating and release of CO2 that can be seen as smoke if burned.
  • eicosanoid – lipid based autacoid (hormone-like) from archidonic acid.
  • eicosanoid class switching – prostaglandins are a wide range of immunomodulators that can be switched between depending on the unknown mechanism of regulation.
  • encephalitogenic t-cell proliferation – T-cells that ramp up and cause encephalitis, and generally in response to a virus.
  • endocannabinoid – a chemical compound such as anandamide that is naturally produced within the body and bind to the same brain receptors as compounds(such as THC) derived from cannabis.
  • endogenous signaling lipids – endogenous means naturally found in the body, so endocannabinoids are signaling lipids that occur naturally in the body.
  • entourage effect – Using the full spectrum extract containing all of the cannabinoids that naturally occur in the plant instead of a single cannabinoid.  Thought to increase the effectiveness in the treatment of many diseases like colitis.
  • FAAH binding – fatty acid amide hydrolase breaks down lipids including anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol which are both endocannabinoids.
  • GPR3,GPR6,GPR1 – regulate neurites.
  • heteromers – the combination of multiple receptors or proteins that bind together often causing signaling
  • homeostasis– regulation of body temperature and other metabolic needs to continue living.
  • immunomodulation – instead of a single cytokine inhibition or overall suppression of the immune system, multiple aspects are regulated.
  • inverse agonist – the binding of a signaling molecule that is an agonist, but causes the inverse effect; CBD for example binds CB1 but causes the opposite action of THC even though they are both agonists.
  • leukotrienes – eicosanoid inflammatory mediators from leukocytes that promote inflammation (arachidonic acid breakdown).
  • lipid/lipid signaling – signaling that is done with the same building blocks as cell walls.
  • lipophilic properties – lipid-loving and generally will reside in the lipid bi-layer of the cell wall.
  • macrophage – white blood cell that engulfs other cells and breaks them down.
  • microglia – macrophage in the brain.
  • multimodal – CBD can act in a plethora of mechanisms.
  • neurite regulation – The growth and regulation of neurons dendrites and axons.
  • neuritis – neuronal growth including plaques.
  • neutrophils – phagocytes (eats other cells) are first to respond and have little specificity.
  • nociceptive – relating to a person’s perception of pain.
  • NSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are generally COX-2 inhibitors that disrupt lipoxins known for inflammation and pain.
  • PGE – Prostaglandin E causes vasodilatation and interacts with multiple analgesic receptors, also decreases TNF-α and increases IL-10 (anti-inflammatory).
  • PGI2 – the prostaglandin thought to cause ulcers seen in NSAIDs when impaired.
  • phagocytosis – The process of engulfing something or another cell to degrade it (like macrophages).
  • pharmakinetics – the pharmaceutical facts about how the drug interacts and is processed through the body.
  • placebo effect – sugar pill that is thought as beneficial to the patient so the show positive results.
  • polypharmaceutical-like medications – medications that are taken together for a synergism.
  • PPARs – a family of nuclear receptors that regulates the switch from glucose to lipid based metabolism and plays a part in apoptosis as well as eicosanoid switching.
  • pro-apoptotic – increases the chance of apoptosis (programmed cell death).
  • prostaglandins – group of autocrine/paracrine autocoid signaling lipids made by AA broken down by COX-1.
  • prostanoids – this group includes prostaglandins and include thromboxanes and prostacyclins;have multimodal effects on inflammation.
  • psychoactive – mind-altering drug like THC.
  • reactive oxygen species (ROS) – these are chemicals that breakdown old or unused cellular components using acids with oxygen in them like peroxide.
  • Serotonin 1A receptor (5HT1A) – binds the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain it is known to be a common target of both anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications; a subtype of serotonin receptor that plays a part in anxiety and depression regulation.
  • T-regs – Regulatory T-cells that decreases inflammation and reduce the immunological response.
  • terpenes – the aromatic organic compound that gives scent to cannabis and other plants, essential oils are an example of terpenes.
  • THCA – the non-decarboxylated version of THC and requires high temperature to change into the psychoactive component THC.
  • titration – slow methodical increase of something until it balances out.
  • TRPV1 – capsaicin receptors are primarily in nociceptive neurons regulating pain stimulus as well as CA2+ release.
  • ubiquitination – the polyubiquinatination of a protein causes its degradation via the proteasome; ubiquitin is added to a protein and if enough are added the protein will be degraded by the cell.
  • vasorelaxant – The increase in blood veins to increase the flow of blood by decreasing vascular tension.