Tag Archives: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA)

Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A) reduces adiposity and prevents metabolic disease caused by diet-induced obesity.

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Biochemical Pharmacology“Medicinal cannabis has remarkable therapeutic potential, but its clinical use is limited by the psychotropic activity of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). However, the biological profile of the carboxylated, non-narcotic native precursor of Δ9-THC, the Δ9-THC acid A (Δ9-THCA-A), remains largely unexplored.

Here we present evidence that Δ9-THCA-A is a partial and selective PPARγ modulator, endowed with lower adipogenic activity than the full PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone (RGZ) and enhanced osteoblastogenic effects in hMSC. Docking and in vitro functional assays indicated that Δ9-THCA-A binds to and activates PPARγ by acting at both the canonical and the alternative sites of the ligand-binding domain. Transcriptomic signatures in iWAT from mice treated with Δ9-THCA-A confirmed its mode of action through PPARγ.

Administration of Δ9-THCA-A in a mouse model of HFD-induced obesity significantly reduced fat mass and body weight gain, markedly ameliorating glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, and largely preventing liver steatosis, adipogenesis and macrophage infiltration in fat tissues. Additionally, immunohistochemistry, transcriptomic, and plasma biomarker analyses showed that treatment with Δ9-THCA-A caused browning of iWAT and displayed potent anti-inflammatory actions in HFD mice.

Our data validate the potential of Δ9-THCA-A as a low adipogenic PPARγ agonist, capable of substantially improving the symptoms of obesity-associated metabolic syndrome and inflammation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31706843

“Δ9-THCA-A is a partial PPARγ ligand agonist with low adipogenic activity. Δ9-THCA-A enhances osteoblastogenesis in bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. Δ9-THCA-A reduces body weight gain, fat mass, and liver steatosis in HFD-fed mice. Δ9-THCA-A improves glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and insulin profiles in vivo. Δ9-THCA-A induces browning of iWAT and has a potent anti-inflammatory activity.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006295219303922?via%3Dihub

Can You Pass the Acid Test? Critical Review and Novel Therapeutic Perspectives of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid A.

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“Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (THCA-A) is the acidic precursor of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound found in Cannabis sativa. THCA-A is biosynthesized and accumulated in glandular trichomes present on flowers and leaves, where it serves protective functions and can represent up to 90% of the total THC contained in the plant. THCA-A slowly decarboxylates to form THC during storage and fermentation and can further degrade to cannabinol. Decarboxylation also occurs rapidly during baking of edibles, smoking, or vaporizing, the most common ways in which the general population consumes Cannabis. Contrary to THC, THCA-A does not elicit psychoactive effects in humans and, perhaps for this reason, its pharmacological value is often neglected. In fact, many studies use the term “THCA” to refer indistinctly to several acid derivatives of THC. Despite this perception, many in vitro studies seem to indicate that THCA-A interacts with a number of molecular targets and displays a robust pharmacological profile that includes potential anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, and antineoplastic properties. Moreover, the few in vivo studies performed with THCA-A indicate that this compound exerts pharmacological actions in rodents, likely by engaging type-1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptors. Although these findings may seem counterintuitive due to the lack of cannabinoid-related psychoactivity, a careful perusal of the available literature yields a plausible explanation to this conundrum and points toward novel therapeutic perspectives for raw, unheated Cannabis preparations in humans.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28861488 http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2016.0008]]>

Affinity and Efficacy Studies of Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid A at Cannabinoid Receptor Types One and Two.

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“Introduction: Cannabis biosynthesizes Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA-A), which decarboxylates into Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There is growing interest in the therapeutic use of THCA-A, but its clinical application may be hampered by instability. THCA-A lacks cannabimimetic effects; we hypothesize that it has little binding affinity at cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1). Results: The THCA-A reagent contained 2% THC. THCA-A displayed small but measurable binding at both hCB1 and hCB2, equating to approximate Ki values of 3.1μM and 12.5μM, respectively. THC showed 62-fold greater affinity at hCB1 and 125-fold greater affinity at hCB2. In efficacy tests, THCA-A (10μM) slightly inhibited forskolin-stimulated cAMP at hCB1, suggestive of weak agonist activity, and no measurable efficacy at hCB2. Discussion: The presence of THC in our THCA-A certified standard agrees with decarboxylation kinetics (literature reviewed herein), which indicate contamination with THC is nearly unavoidable. THCA-A binding at 10μM approximated THC binding at 200nM. We therefore suspect some of our THCA-A binding curve was artifact-from its inevitable decarboxylation into THC-and the binding affinity of THCA-A is even weaker than our estimated values. We conclude that THCA-A has little affinity or efficacy at CB1 or CB2.
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28861508
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/can.2016.0032
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