For those of you following the NN lifestyle and for those of just starting, we like to help educate about the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and how to best get it to work as it is intended. Being most people do not have a functioning ECS, it becomes really important to help people with activating the system and at Noetic, we eagerly accept this task.
With that being sad, many foods and ingredients we consume help our ECS on many levels. Although we know that CBD may likely the best way activate and prime the system, there are other ways to enhance the effectiveness of CBD and even help the system independently.
Traditionally, in regions of Asia, the bark of the Magnolia Officanalis has been used for a host of medicinal applications. These include but are not limited to helping people with anxiety, sleeping disorders, allergies, and other ‘diseases’. Based on the results of the study discussed below, I’d venture to guess that it was also used for pain and inflammation based on the CB2 receptor interaction that was determined.
Research now shows that a great way a to activate the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is with Magnolia Extracts. There are actually two extracts that are commonly studied: magnolol and honokiol. It appears that magnolol aids in CB2 activity with only a bit of an effect on the CB1 receptor while honokiol, being less potent, works to stimulate the CB1 receptors while mildly perhaps inhibiting CB2 receptor activity. A study in ACS Medical Chemistry Letters, by Victor Rempel et. al, titled Magnolia Extract, Magnolol, and Metabolites Activation of Cannabinoid CB2 Receptors ad Blockade of the Related GPR55, shows just how this happens.
Is it possible to isolate each of these ingredients? Yes. Would they have an effect on the ECS independently or combined with other ECS agonists? Yes!
The study also investigated if the ‘nasty’ endocannabioid eating enzymes, FAAH and MAGL, were affected by magnolia extract. In this case, the magnolia didn’t seem to do much. So, whereas CBD eats the enzymes, magnolol affects receptors directly. This is great information but we have to consider that if we have excessive FAAH and MAGL in our system, as most people do, we must reduce them, and this is where Cannabidiol (CBD) comes in. It’s one thing to hit a receptor directly and it’s another to be sure your body is operating at an optimal level. We should all be working to enhance our health.
We are excited to see research going into this area of study as it will help us with our product formulations. Having a history of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of use of a particular ingredient and learning its positive effects is a great guide for what we can do going forward.
Frank Frontis
Interesting piece that concludes with a huge question without clarification.
Since CBD is shown to eliminate the FAAH and MAGL enzymes, and Magnolol is shown not to be able to eliminate them, but to be able to work directly on the endocannabioid receptors… doesn’t the two in combo appear to be a “match made in heaven?”
If science has demonstrated this and many people from ancient medical traditions have already known it, Why Hasn’t Anyone Formulated either a CBD/Magnolol Combo or a CBD/Magnolia Bark Extract (Magnolol/Honokiol) Combo?
Dr. Allen Manison
Frank,
You are barking up the right tree. The key to product formulation is using the right combination of terpenes to guide the effect of the CBD. For example, our Game Changer/Energy nano burst is made with a specific blend of terpenes to aid with improving energy and focus. The R3/Relax is for, well, just that. I do not divulge the entire list of terpenes we use, but I will say that we use myrcene as one of the terpenes with this formulation as it has phenomenal relaxing effects.
There are other terpenes that directly affect the cannabinoid receptors and we are aware of them and use them in our products. It was once described to me with this analogy: CBD is the car and the terpenes act as the steering wheel. This is a rather accurate way to view how we can use terpenes to aid with CBD function in the body.
Hope this helps a bit and thank you for your comment.
Dr. M