There are over 100 cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. However, these are not all included in Cannabidiol products. Cannabinoids start as cannabinoid acids which are the precursor to an active compound. For the most part, there are 8 main cannabinoids in CBD oil products. The 3 which immediately spring to mind are CBD, CBDa and THC. The 2 former compounds will support improvements in health while the latter is key for altogether different reasons.

Key Cannabinoid Compounds in CBD

It should come as no surprise, Cannabidiol (CBD) is the main cannabinoid of interest to most people who consume CBD oil. It is often pure, Gold with a distinctive smell and taste. The next compound is CBDa. This is the precursor to CBD. In short, when CBDa interacts with heat (decarboxylation) it becomes a CBD compound. CBDa also offers a number of health benefits. This compound is usually associated with the raw CBD oils. In most cases, it is dark to light brown or Green in colour. These raw CBD tinctures contain a combination of the CBD and CBDa.

The Only Psychoactive Compound

The next cannabinoid compound to look out for is Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the psychoactive element in marijuana. In the vast majority of CBD oil products, THC is only included in very small or trace quantities. These trace amounts are not sufficiently high enough to cause impairment. In other words, they do not leave users feeling ‘high’. In some cases, THC in small quantities does offer certain benefits. Even a trace amount of THC will have a positive impact on other ingredients. This phenomenon is called the ‘entourage effect’ and is found in the full spectrum CBD oil. It means the various elements (cannabinoids, terpenes) combine and the whole product works better as a result.

List of Cannabinoid Acids in CBD Oil

Cannabis does not produce the compounds we are familiar with, such as CBD and THC. However, it does produce cannabinoid acids which have antibiotic and/or insecticidal properties. You can find the typical cannabinoid acids found in CBD oil below;

CBDA (Cannabidiolic acid)
CBGA (Cannabigerolic acid)
THCA (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid)
CBCA (Cannabichromenenic acid)
CBGVA (Cannabigerovarinic acid)
THCVA (Tetrahydrocanabivarinic acid)
CBDVA (Cannabidivarinic acid)
CBCVA (Cannabichromevarinic acid)

List of Cannabinoid Compounds

When the oil extract has been processed and is fully decarboxylated, this activates the cannabinoid acids. This process yields the compounds listed below;

CBD (Cannabidiol)
CBG (Cannabigerol)
THC (Δ9–tetrahydrocannabinol)
CBC (Cannabichromene)
CBGV (Cannabigerivarin)
THCV (Tetrahydrocannabivarin)
CBDV (Cannabidivarin)
CBCV (Cannabichromevarin)

The number may vary or differ to an extent with some manufacturers or in specialist products. That said, on the whole, these are the 8 main cannabinoids in CBD oil products. In general, the list of compounds will largely remain the same. However, the quantities of each ingredient will vary on manufacturer lab test reports. After reading this article, you should now have a better understanding of the different cannabinoids in a typical CBD oil product.