Understanding the Endocannabinoid System
The endocannabinoid system is so little known within the wider world, that odds are you’ve never even heard of it. Even in the 21st century, when most people have at least a passing familiarity with the human body and its various functions, you’d be hard pressed to find a layman who would be able to tell you about this enigmatic yet essential system.
The endocannabinoid system (often abbreviated to “ECS”) helps regulate, among other things: emotional processing, memory, learning, sleep, temperature regulation, food consumption, inflammatory and immune reactions, and pain signalling. Because of its massive importance to how our bodies work, it has recently become the focus of renewed scientific research.
What Is The Endocannabinoid System?
The ECS is a sprawling network of cellular receptors and chemical signals that is found throughout the body. Cannabinoid receptors are particularly numerous throughout the brain – outnumbering, in fact, most of the other receptors found there. They police the activity of many neurotransmitters, providing immediate feedback in order to regulate such things as alertness, temperature, and hunger levels.
At a basic level, there are three components to the ECS: endocannabinoids, enzymes, and receptors.
Endocannabinoids
Also called “endogenous cannabinoids”, they are similar to (exogenous) cannabinoids in such things as cannabis, but with one major difference – they’re made within your body.
The two main endocannabinoids identified so far are anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Both help to regulate internal functions and they’re produced as needed, which makes it difficult to establish a baseline level for either one.
Enzymes
Enzymes break down endocannabinoids once they’ve served their purpose. Each endocannabinoid has a corresponding enzyme that’s responsible for breaking it down: fatty acid amide hydrolase (which breaks down AEA) and monoacylglycerol lipase (which breaks down 2-AG).
Endocannabinoid Receptors
Found throughout your body, these receptors are what endocannabinoids bind to in order to spur the ECS into action. The most important two cannabinoid receptors are:
- CB1 receptors, found largely in the central nervous system;
- CB2 receptors, found mainly in immune cells and other parts of the peripheral nervous system.
CB1 and CB2 receptors in the ECS can be bound to either endocannabinoid. The effects can therefore vary – not simply by which endocannabinoid binds to which receptor, but by the receptor’s location within the body. One endocannabinoid might bind to a cannabinoid receptor in the spine and change how pain signals are passed on; another might act on immune cells.
How The Body Produces Cannabinoids For The ECS
The body produces endocannabinoids in a multitude of organs and tissue – they can originate from the brain, adipose (fat) tissue, muscle, circulating cells, and several organs.
They are synthesized on demand, which contributes to the difficulty in measuring them or establishing what is a ‘typical’ amount of endocannabinoids to have in one’s system at any given moment.
Phytocannabinoids And The Endocannabinoid System
While the body natively produces cannabinoids (hence ‘endocannabinoids’), there are some exogenous cannabinoids of note. The two most well-known are found within the cannabis plant, making then phytocannabinoids (‘phyto’ meaning ‘plant’).
These two are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
CBD Oil And The Endocannabinoid System
CBD, the compound in CBD oil, is one of two major phytocannabinoids found in cannabis. A lot more of it is found in hemp than in marijuana.
It’s not entirely clear how CBD oil interacts with the endocannabinoid system. However, research has shown that it doesn’t bind to CB1 and CB2 receptors in the ECS in the same way that THC does. It’s been theorized that CBD acts by preventing the breakdown of endocannabinoids, or that it binds to an as-yet-undiscovered cannabinoid receptor.
Role Of THC In The Endocannabinoid System
THC is the other phytocannabinoid occurring in cannabis. THC is the cannabinoid responsible for user intoxication; much more of it is found in marijuana than in hemp.
This powerful compound is able to bind to both CB1 and CB2 receptors in the ECS. Because of this, it can produce a range of effects on your body. It can increase appetite, and it can also lead to anxiety and paranoia.
Conclusion
While research has shed some light upon the mysterious endocannabinoid system and its function within the human body, there is still much more to be learned. What is known is that it is a massively important system.
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