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Radula marginata | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Division: | Marchantiophyta |
Class: | Jungermanniopsida |
Order: | Porellales |
Family: | Radulaceae |
Genus: | Radula |
Species: | R. marginata |
Binomial name | |
Radula marginata (Hook.f. & Taylor) Gottsche, Lindenb. & Nees | |
Radula marginata, or wairuakohu', is a species of plant in genus Radula , [1] a genus of liverworts. It is endemic to New Zealand. [2] [3] It has been found to contain cannabinoids. [4] [5]
Users smoking the plant have experienced different effects. [6] [ citation needed ] The cannabinoid is not THC, the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis, but it is of similar molecular structure. [4] The liverwort contains perrottetinene and perrottetinenic acid. [4] The quantity of cannabinoid present is much less than in cannabis. Perrottetinene has been shown to be a moderately potent CB1 agonist leading to mild psychoactive effects in mice. [7]
The liverwort grows as a common weed.[ citation needed ] Owning, growing and distributing the liverwort is legal.
Radula marginata may have been used in rongoā (Māori herbal medicine), but there is no firm evidence of this.
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis; C. ruderalis may be included within C. sativa; all three may be treated as subspecies of a single species, C. sativa; or C. sativa may be accepted as a single undivided species. The genus is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from Asia.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term THC usually refers to the Delta-9-THC isomer with chemical name (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Like most pharmacologically active secondary metabolites of plants, THC is a lipid found in cannabis, assumed to be involved in the plant's evolutionary adaptation, putatively against insect predation, ultraviolet light, and environmental stress.
The effects of cannabis are caused by chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, including 113 different cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 120 terpenes, which allow its drug to have various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Different plants of the genus Cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of THC and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect, so that the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen.
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.
Cannabinoids are compounds found in the cannabis plant or synthetic compounds that can interact with the endocannabinoid system. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Delta-9-THC), the primary intoxicating compound in cannabis. Cannabidiol (CBD) is another major constituent of some cannabis plants. At least 113 distinct cannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis. It was reported in 2020 that cannabinoids can be found in other plants such as rhododendron, licorice and liverwort, and earlier in Echinacea.
Cannabis sativa is an annual herbaceous flowering plant indigenous to Eastern Asia, but now of cosmopolitan distribution due to widespread cultivation. It has been cultivated throughout recorded history, used as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, recreation, religious and spiritual moods and medicine. Each part of the plant is harvested differently, depending on the purpose of its use. The species was first classified by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The word sativa means "things that are cultivated."
Tetrahydrocannabivarin is a homologue of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) having a propyl (3-carbon) side chain instead of a pentyl (5-carbon) group on the molecule, which makes it produce very different effects from THC.
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Native to Central and South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.
Cannabis tea is a cannabis-infused drink prepared by steeping various parts of the cannabis plant in hot or cold water. Cannabis tea is commonly recognized as an alternative form of preparation and consumption of the cannabis plant, more popularly known as marijuana, pot, or weed. This plant has long been recognized as an herbal medicine employed by health professionals worldwide to ease symptoms of disease, as well as a psychoactive drug used recreationally and in spiritual traditions. Though less commonly practiced than popular methods like smoking or consuming edibles, drinking cannabis tea can produce comparable physical and mental therapeutic effects. Such effects are largely attributed to the THC content of the tea, levels of which are drastically dependent on individual preparation techniques involving volume, amount of cannabis, and boiling time. Also in common with these administration forms of cannabis is the heating component performed before usage. Due to the rather uncommon nature of this particular practice of cannabis consumption in modern times, the research available on the composition of cannabis tea is limited and based broadly around what is known of cannabis as it exists botanically.
Cannabigerol (CBG) is one of more than 120 identified cannabinoid compounds found in the plant genus Cannabis. Cannabigerol is the decarboxylated form of cannabigerolic acid, the parent molecule from which other cannabinoids are synthesized.
Radula is a genus of liverwort, and is the only genus in family Radulaceae.
Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which cannabinoids in cannabis plants attach. These novel psychoactive substances should not be confused with synthetic phytocannabinoids or synthetic endocannabinoids from which they are in many aspects distinct.
Perrottetinene is a naturally occurring cannabinoid compound found in liverworts from the genus Radula native to Japan, New Zealand and Costa Rica, namely Radula perrottetii, Radula marginata and Radula laxiramea, along with a number of similar compounds. Its chemical structure closely resembles that of THC, the main active component of marijuana. The absolute configuration of perrottetinene was established in 2008 by an enantioselective total synthesis. In 2018, a study showed that perrottetinene is moderately psychoactive through activation of the cannabinoid receptor 1. The same study also reported reduced prostaglandin D2 and E2 brain concentrations in mice after perrottetinene administration.
Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) synthase is an enzyme responsible for catalyzing the formation of THCA from cannabigerolic acid (CBGA). THCA is the direct precursor of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive component of cannabis, which is produced from various strains of Cannabis sativa. Therefore, THCA synthase is considered to be a key enzyme controlling cannabis psychoactivity. Polymorphisms of THCA synthase result in varying levels of THC in Cannabis plants, resulting in "drug-type" and "fiber-type" C. sativa varieties.
The entourage effect is a proposed mechanism by which cannabis compounds other than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) act synergistically with it to modulate the overall psychoactive effects of the plant.
Cannabinodiol (CBND), also known as cannabidinodiol, cannabinoid that is present in the plant Cannabis sativa at low concentrations. It is the fully aromatized derivative of cannabidiol (CBD) and can occur as a product of the photochemical conversion of cannabinol (CBN).
Radula perrottetii is a species of plant in genus Radula, a genus of liverworts. It is endemic in Japan. It contains the small molecule perrottetinene a cannabinoid and other metabolites of scientific interest including marchantin A.
Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) is the acidic form of cannabigerol (CBG). It is a dihydroxybenzoic acid and olivetolic acid in which the hydrogen at position 3 is substituted by a geranyl group. It is a biosynthetic precursor to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the principal psychoactive constituent of the Cannabis plant. It is also a diterpenoid, a polyketide, a member of resorcinols and a phytocannabinoid. It derives from an olivetolic acid. It is a conjugate acid of a cannabigerolate.
Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant. It is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound commonly known as THC. ∆8-THC is under preliminary research for its biological properties.
Cannabicitran (CBTC) is a phytocannabinoid first isolated in 1974 as a trace component of Cannabis sativa, Structurally related compounds can be found in some other plants. It is not psychoactive, but was found to reduce intraocular pressure in tests on rabbits, which may reflect agonist activity at the NAGly receptor that is known to be a target of many structurally related cannabinoids.