THCA: Cannabis Health Game Changer

THCA-many benefits, not psychoactive: win, win!

THCA research is a bursting field in the study of the health benefits of cannabis. The acids called THCA have many benefits including as a neuroprotectant, anti-inflammatory, and it activates essential cell death processes. Using THCA-rich full-spectrum infusions also allows the benefits of THCA and other cannabinoids while not getting high. THCA turns into THC slowly over time and much faster with heating (McPartland), so THCA is best extracted raw with cold infusion. Mystic Crone Edible's newly released product THCA Tincture is infused below freezing and is triple filtered for purity.

How does THCA work?

THCA is a cannabinoid which is relatively early in the process of being studied. It is non-psychoactive, meaning it does not make people high. THCA is found in the live and fresh cannabis plant, helping the cells break down through necrosis and changing into THC (Yoshinari et al. 1111). In both animals and plants, including humans, this process of cell death is essential for keeping us healthy (1112) because without cell death, there are too many cells and tumors form (Moreno-Sanz). THCA does not work with the main cannabinoid receptors in animal nervous system like most cannabinoids, instead working inside cells to open MTP pores which is the important part of cell death (Yoshinari et al. 1111) and with minor CB1 and CB2 receptors (Moreno-Sanz).

THCA is better at protecting the nervous system

THCA has proven to be extremely neuroprotective, even more so than THC (Nadal et al.). According to Nadal and team's article in the British Journal of Pharmacology, it also shows promise in treating neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's because of its ability to help nerve cells develop. It is unique as a cannabinoid because it does not generally interact with the endocannabinoid part of the central nervous system, but instead with nerve cells and less central parts of the nervous system (Moreno-Sanz). By consuming cannabis raw with THCA, many of the benefits of THC like neuroprotection and nerve generation are not only available without the high, they're also more potent.

THCA helps maintain the immune system

Part of the immune system of the cannabis plant is THCA (Yoshinari 1111). Outside of benefiting the cannabis plant itself, the acid THCA-A stops the enzyme made by some bacteria, parasites, and fungi that makes it more difficult for the immune system to defend the body (Moreno-Sanz). THCA along with two other cannabis compounds have shown that they're able to prevent and treat COVID-19, including new variants. They're moving into pre-clinical trials to prove how this works in the human body and outside of a lab (Herrington). We have a joint review from Hark and her hubby about using our THCA tincture while infected with COVID:

"hubby kept testing positive for a week straight he had a bad cough (after his first dose..the next day his cough significantly subsided) the day before he had also tested positive for the second time... so had him take a large second dose and the day after 2nd dose he somehow tested negative! I don't think thats just a coincidence but his cough 2 days later is completely gone!"

About her own symptoms, Hark shared "I took one dose and my body /bone pain had significantly subsided the skin pain literally vanished and never returned."

A few of the many health benefits of THCA

immunomodulary: keeps up the immune system so it is able to defend against illness and disease (Yoshinari; Moreno-Sanz)

neuroprotectant: reduces inflammation and degeneration to protect nerve cells while helping new nerve cells grow (Moreno-Sanz; McPartland et al.)

antiemetic: interacts with nerve receptors to prevent/treat nausea (Moreno-Sanz)

antineoplastic: kills tumors and prevents tumors by regulating the number of cells (Yoshinari; Moreno-Sanz)

REFERENCES

Herrington, A.J. “Preclinical Trials Planned to Test Cannabis Compounds' Effect on Covid-19 Virus.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 3 Feb. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/ajherrington/2022/02/01/preclinical-trials-planned-to-test-cannabis-compounds-effect-on-covid-19-virus/?sh=3c3bb71b7302&fbclid=IwAR2vRgdJcFKXpooWunz0-E0XO6xOBA9DxiZx358f-lm5sj5x0TouaxrAqaY.

McPartland, John M., et al. “Affinity and Efficacy Studies of Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid A at Cannabinoid Receptor Types One and Two.” Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, vol. 2, no. 1, 2017, pp. 87–95., doi:10.1089/can.2016.0032.

Moreno-Sanz, Guillermo. “Can You Pass the Acid Test? Critical Review and Novel Therapeutic Perspectives of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid a.” Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, vol. 1, no. 1, 2016, pp. 124–130., doi:10.1089/can.2016.0008.

Nadal, Xavier, et al. “Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid Is a Potent PPARΓ Agonist with Neuroprotective Activity.” British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 174, no. 23, 2017, pp. 4263–4276., doi:10.1111/bph.14019.

Shoyama, Yoshinari, et al. “Cannabinoids Act as Necrosis-Inducing Factors Incannabis Sativa.” Plant Signaling & Behavior, vol. 3, no. 12, 2008, pp. 1111–1112., doi:10.4161/psb.3.12.7011. Accessed 24 Feb. 2022.