THE ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM: WHAT IS IT AND HOW IT WORK
What is the endocannabinoid system?
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The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is one of the biological systems present in the human body, like the nervous system, the immune system and the endocrine system, with which it prefers to interact as a modulator.
It is a "machine" basically composed of three elements: cannabinoids, which can be both endogenous, and are defined with the name of endocannabinoids, and exogenous, called phyto cannabinoids, present in nature in various plants, but especially in Cannabis.
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They are the molecules that transmit signals and information to other cells in the human body.
To transmit, they need interaction with another element: the cannabinoid receptors, which are divided into two basic types, the CB1 and CB2 receptors, distributed in various systems and membranes of our body.
Simplifying, we could say that CB1 receptors are found in the nervous system and in the brain, while CB2 receptors tend to be present in the immune system.
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The last element that makes up the Endocannabinoid System are enzymes, proteins that allow the communication between cannabinoids and endocannabinoid receptors at a technical level.
Endocannabinoids are therefore small signal molecules that derive from a polyunsaturated fatty acid: arachidonic acid.
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An individual's set of endocannabinoids is identified as the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system acts on the regulation of a large variety of both physiological and cognitive processes, such as appetite, pain sensation or mood.
We consider cannabinoids as " messengers " acting in our body. Two types can be found: those that originate inside our body (endocannabinoids, such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol, (2-AG) and anandamide) and those that, instead, come from outside (the exocannabinoids) and found in the cannabis plant .
Two of the best known exocannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
How CBD affects the endocannabinoid system?
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The cannabidiol (CBD) acts indirectly on the endocannabinoid system receptors. Cannabidiol (CBD) specifically does not act on a particular pathology: it is a "regulatory" substance of our endocannabinoid system. Cannabidiol (CBD) modulates mechanisms that already exist and are in action in our body.
Basically, when an imbalance or decompensation occurs in the endocannabinoid system, the modulation provided by cannabidiol (CBD) - which acts, for example, on the immune system or indirectly on an inflammatory process - tends to restore balance native to.
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Cannabidiol (CBD) involves an indirect modulation of an alteration of the human endocannabinoid system caused by pathologies or trauma.