Cannabigerol shows promise in reducing anxiety and stress, study finds

By Dr. Chinta SidharthanReviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLMAug 5 2024

In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover field trial to examine whether the phytocannabinoid cannabigerol impacted mood, stress, and anxiety and caused any related adverse effects of cognitive or motor impairment.

Study: Acute effects of cannabigerol on anxiety, stress, and mood: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, field trial. Image Credit: Dmytro Tyshchenko/Shutterstock.com

Background

With the legalization of cannabis in various countries, cannabis growers are attempting to diversify their produce to meet the growing interest of cannabis consumers.

While delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, continues to be the main molecule of interest among cannabis users for its intoxicating effects, there is also a growing interest in some of the other non-intoxicating compounds in cannabis for their medicinal and analgesic effects.

However, this has also resulted in the unregulated isolation and marketing of various terpenes and phytocannabinoids as therapeutic compounds, although the therapeutic value remains unsubstantiated. While cannabidiol is the major non-intoxicating compound isolated from cannabis, cannabigerol is becoming increasingly popular.

The acidic form of cannabigerol, cannabigerolic acid, is the precursor to various phytocannabinoids, including cannabidiol and THC.

Studies using animal models have found that cannabigerol shows broad-spectrum therapeutic properties such as antifungal and antibiotic activity and analgesic and anti-hypertensive properties. It has also demonstrated anti-depressant properties in studies using rodent models.

About the study

In the present study, the researchers conducted a placebo-controlled, double-blind field study to determine whether cannabigerol positively alleviated stress and anxiety and improved mood.

The study also investigated potential adverse effects of cannabigerol use, such as drug liking, intoxication, dry mouth and eyes, drowsiness, heart palpitations, appetite changes, as well as cognitive and motor impairments.

In a previous survey-based study, the researchers observed that close to half the study population reported positive results when cannabigerol was used for managing anxiety. In contrast, over 40% reported improvements in chronic pain with cannabigerol use.

Over 30% of the participants also reported improvements in insomnia and depression. However, these results were not corroborated by clinical trial findings.

The study enrolled participants above the age of 21 with access to a smartphone and a computer with internet and webcam access, as the trial was conducted over Zoom to improve recruitment and feasibility. Individuals with neurological conditions, head injury, bipolar, autism spectrum, and psychotic disorders, as well as illicit drug use, were excluded.

The cannabigerol tincture was prepared with ethanol at 20 mg of cannabigerol. At the same time, the placebo was diluted Chartreuse liqueur to match the taste and color of the cannabigerol tincture. The vials were mailed to the participants with ingestion instructions.

A set of online questionnaires were used to obtain information on demographic characteristics, and frequency, quantity, and onset age for cannabis use. The cannabis use questionnaire explored aspects such as the forms of cannabis use, administration methods, and purpose of cannabis use.

An anxiety questionnaire was used to obtain data on state and trait anxiety, which corresponded to how the participants felt at the moment and how they felt in general, respectively.

A self-reported inventory questionnaire was also employed to gather information on the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

The participants also completed a trier social stress test, a verbal learning test, and a mobile-application-based test to determine driving under the influence of drugs to measure motor and cognition-associated impairments.

Results

The study found that in comparison to the placebo, cannabigerol showed significant improvements in stress and anxiety levels without cognitive or motor impairments or drug effects. Compared to the placebo, cannabigerol also resulted in improvements in verbal memory.

Cannabigerol use also resulted in a 26.5% decrease in anxiety levels, which was higher than the 22.5% decrease seen in the case of the placebo.

The researchers believe that the anxiety-alleviating effects of cannabigerol could be due to its impact on the serotonin 1A receptor or gamma-aminobutyric acid.

While cannabigerol was found to significantly lower stress levels, the researchers believe that higher doses and larger sample sizes are needed to adequately capture the medium-sized effects of cannabigerol on stress.

Furthermore, the current field trial did not allow them to observe clinical measures of stress, such as alpha-amylase and cortisol levels, but the team is planning a laboratory study as a follow-up to investigate the impact of cannabigerol on stress using clinical measures.

Conclusions

To summarize, the study involved a placebo-controlled, double-blinded field trial to determine whether the minor phytocannabinoid cannabigerol had a positive impact on anxiety, depression, and stress.

The results showed that a 20 mg dose of cannabigerol reduced the subjective ratings of stress and anxiety in healthy adults, and showed no adverse effects on motor function or cognition or any drug effects such as intoxication or increased chance of addiction. Further research is required to observe the clinical effects of cannabigerol.