what are terpenes?
Terpenes are volatile organic chemicals that are produced by living organisms and provide medicinal and fragrant properties to plants, bacteria and fungi.
These molecules were discovered over 155 years ago and as a group, terpenes are the most prevalent family of plant chemicals in the world. Recent counts have identified over 50,000 terpenes and counting.
Terpenes are highly concentrated in cannabis and each strain can yield slightly different terpene profiles that play a role in the aromatic and pharmacological properties of the cannabis strain. There have been over 100 terpenes discovered in cannabis and many of them are exclusive to the cannabis species.
With the legalization of medical cannabis in over half the United States we are learning more about how these chemicals interact with cannabinoids (THC, CBD, etc) and many medical experts believe terpenes provide the majority of each strains medical properties.
What are Trichomes?
The actual definition of trichome is fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists.
Originating from the Greek word “Tríchōma,” meaning “growth of hair,” these tiny microscopic mushroom-looking protuberances look like something out of a science fiction novel.
But they are actually the very factories that produce the hundreds of known cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that make our favorite cannabis strains potent, unique, and effective.
What is the entourage effect?
The entourage effect is a mechanism by which compounds in cannabis which are largely non-psychoactive by themselves modulate the overall psychoactive effects of the plant.