By now, you’re likely familiar with CBD and all of its incredible supportive benefits. However, what if we told you that CBD barely exists on the hemp plant?
The thing is, most CBD in nature actually exists as CBDA. In fact, they’re basically the same compound with one teeny tiny difference.
This difference actually causes a big variation in effects, which we’ll explore in this article. If you’d like to learn more about CBDA benefits and how it is different from CBD, then continue reading below!
How Are Cannabinoids Created?
To get into what CBDA is, we first need to start from the beginning. We need to understand that all the cannabinoids we know and love come mostly from hemp flowers.
When the flowers are first growing on the hemp plant, they begin producing a cannabinoid called cannabigerolic acid (CBGA). CBGA is like the grandmother of all other cannabinoids because CBD, CBC, THC, and all others are derived from it.
As the hemp plant and flowers mature, enzymes convert the CBGA into the other cannabinoids. The only thing is, CBGA doesn’t turn directly into CBD or THC but to another acidic form known as CBDA and THCA.
Once the hemp plant is ready for harvest, almost all the CBGA is converted into CBDA, THCA, CBCA, etc. However, the most abundant cannabinoid in hemp flowers is CBDA since hemp has only small amounts of THCA.
How Does CBDA Become CBD?
As stated above, if you were to find a fully mature hemp flower, then most of the cannabinoids on it would be CBDA. So now you might be wondering, how does CBDA become CBD?
This happens through a process called decarboxylation. To understand decarboxylation, we need to dig into a little bit of chemistry.
The reason that CBDA is called the acidic form is that it has an acidic carboxyl group, which is represented in the name as the “A” in CBDA.
Chemically, the carboxyl group is made up of an oxygen atom and a hydroxyl atom bonded together. This carboxyl group is the only structural difference between CBD and CBDA.
In order for CBDA to become CBD, we need to chop off the carboxyl, or “A”, group. That brings us back to decarboxylation—which is exactly as it sounds.
Removing the carboxyl group (decarboxylation) sounds complicated but it’s actually simple. All you need to do is apply heat to the cannabinoid—aka, add fire.
That’s why you can’t simply eat hemp or cannabis flowers and feel an effect. The flowers must be smoked or vaped, or heated to remove the carboxyl group.
If you’ve ever made CBD edibles with hemp flower, you’ll have noticed that the first step is to decarb your product to activate it.
Once the carboxyl group is removed, the cannabinoid is now in its “active” form—or simply, CBD.
What Are the Supportive Benefits of CBDA?
You’ll notice that CBD is called the active form. That means that researchers once thought that CBDA is inactive.
Basically, people believed that CBDA was useless and has no effect. However, recent research shows that CBDA may have supportive benefits of its own.
In one of the first studies in 2008, researchers found that CBDA may provide supportive benefits for inflammation. What they found was that CBDA could block an enzyme known as COX-2.
This COX-2 enzyme is essential for the inflammation process and stopping it could, in turn, reduce inflammation.
In 2013, a study on mice found that CBDA might have better supportive benefits for nausea than CBD. Of course, this is an animal study, and another experiment on humans might give us a clearer answer.
Perhaps the most crucial study is one that came out in early 2022. Researchers found that CBDA might be able to have supportive benefits for COVID.
The paper claims that CBDA could prevent SARS-CoV-2 from invading human cells by blocking the spike proteins of the virus. If the spike proteins are blocked, they won’t attach and infect human cells.
However, it’s essential to keep in mind that this is one paper, and it’s undetermined if CBDA has effective supportive benefits for COVID.
The Entourage Effect
Perhaps the best part of CBDA is how it plays into the entourage effect. The entourage effect is the idea that all the cannabinoids and terpenes in full or broad spectrum CBD oil can help each other.
Basically, each compound builds on one another to create supportive benefits that may be better together than alone. After all, you most likely won’t consume pure CBDA or CBD (unless it is CBD isolate), but a combination of cannabinoids—and the more, the merrier.
For example, if you need nausea support, then a combination of CBDA and CBD might be better than either of the cannabinoids on their own. The same thing goes for inflammation support—both CBDA and CBD may work together to create more potent supportive benefits.
Where Can I Find the Best CBDA Products?
Now that you know a bit more about CBDA, it’s time to get out and try adding it into your wellness routine. However, you’ll want to make sure that you purchase your CBDA from a reliable, trustworthy, and high-quality vendor, such as Sky Wellness.
Sky Wellness creates the best CBD and CBDA products on the market by taking care of every detail. For example, all cannabinoids from Sky Wellness are from non-GMO, USA-grown hemp.
Each of their products are created by using natural and high-quality ingredients that are often vegan and gluten-free. Best of all, Sky Wellness stays ahead of the curve by creating new and exciting products all the time.
If you’re after the best CBDA for sale, then check out these 900mg CBDaF! Softgels. They are packed to the brim with CBDA, CBD, and other cannabinoids.
Or, you can try these CBD and CBG Immunity Softgels in 750mg or 125mg. Crafted specifically for immune support, you will also get CBDA in each and every dose.
What makes Sky Wellness stand above the competition is their commitment to safety. Every one of their products are lab-tested, so you know exactly what you’re getting and what you’re taking.
Never deal with shady or subpar CBD products ever again. Head over to Sky Wellness and find the CBDA product that’s perfect for your wellness routine today!The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. All opinions expressed in this blog post are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Sky Wellness or its brands/affiliates.
