This means that originally “the entourage effect” described endocannabinoids having increased activity when more fat (lipids) were present. The entire experiment focused on both cannabinoids and lipids produced in a mouse gut. Which is terrific evidence that the entourage effect almost certainly occurs in humans as well. However, this model did not include any administered cannabis!
Since then, despite very little experimental research being performed due to prohibition, the principle behind entourage effect has been popularized and expanded to include the chemical components of cannabis. The core of the entourage effect is the idea that lipids somehow alter the interaction between the (endo)cannabinoids and the cannabinoid receptors without having any independent activity. Our primary medicinal cannabinoids are THC and CBD, with many others waiting to be characterized. The other prominent class of medicinal compounds in cannabis are the terpenes. Terpenes, as a class of chemical compound, may be as small as a single five-carbon isoprene unit or hundreds of five-carbon units long. Cannabis terpenes are predominate monoterpenes or sesquiterpenes, meaning they have 10 or 15 carbons, respectively. Many of these same terpenes found in cannabis are the principal ingredient of essential oils and other familiar plant-based scents.
Increasing, these compounds are being extracted from cannabis and recombined in specific ratios to create stable, reproducible products.
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