The cannabis plant (hemp) has had a huge impact in our lives since the dawn of recorded history, and is still used in many areas of human activity. Its seeds and flowers produce essential oils and protein-rich meal, while its fiber and wood provide materials for food and construction. Cannabis seeds and related ingredients (hemp oil and hemp protein) are widely used in nutrition, cosmetics, medicine, light industry, building materials etc.
Hemp flower power
Cannabis was first documented as a useful plant in the 3rd millennium BCE, but archeologists believe that the use of cannabis goes back at least 10,000 years. Cannabis was used as a food source and also for medical purposes. The Chinese Emperor Shen-Nung is considered to be the father of Chinese medicine and is said to have prescribed cannabis for gout, depression and malaria between 2700 and 2500 B.C.. While most early records of medical marijuana come from China, there are references to it in ancient India, Greece, Rome and Egypt.
Huge shift in science started after Endocanabynoid system discovery. The first study to look at it was by a neuroscientist from Liverpool University named Dr. Mike Howell in 1988, the first cannabinoid receptor was identified in the brain of a rat.
Researchers discovered that these receptors interacted exclusively with receptors found in the cannabis compound, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). What was even more surprising is that these receptors were found concentrated in parts of the brain responsible for mental and physiological processes (memory, high cognition, emotion, and motor coordination).
In 1993 a second cannabinoid receptor was identified. This receptor was distributed throughout the immune system and peripheral tissues of the body. It was then that researchers realized they were onto something big.In 1995 researchers discovered that two receptors―now deemed the CB1 and CB2 receptors―were found not only in rats, but within thousands of other species―including humans
Research on endocannabinoids, which are synthesized by nerve cells in the brain, has thrown new light on many disorders, from autism to cancer. This system is one of the most important neuronal pathways involved in inflammation and immune responses. Experts are still trying to fully understand the ECS. But so far, we know it plays role in regulating a range of functions and processes, including:
- sleep
- mood
- appetite
- memory
- reproduction and fertility
Even if the ECS exists and is active in your body even if you don’t use cannabis. This was a huge breakthrough because it revealed one profound fact―our bodies were designed to interact with cannabinoids. Whole new era of research of cannabinoids started, beginning with few main ones – THC and CBD.
