Scientists Discover 7 New Cannabinoids in Marijuana

Scientists at the University of Mississippi have discovered seven new naturally occurring cannabinoids in marijuana.

Marijuana plants usually contain either a large amount of THC or CBD cannabinioids, with a diverse amount of minor cannabinoids mixed in.

Most labs test marijuana for percentages of major cannabinoids (THC and CBD) and a few minor cannabinoids, but, so far, none have the capability to provide a full cannabinoid fingerprint profile. It’s possible to do so, but such an analysis would take weeks and thousands of dollars given the current technology.

Until recently, scientists had discovered 104 different cannabinoids in the marijuana plant, and it seems that number just increased to 111, with the inclusion of these seven new cannabinoids: 8α-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol; 8β-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol; 10α-hydroxy-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol; 10β-hydroxy-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol; 11-acetoxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A, 10β-epoxyhexahydrocannabinol, and 10α-hydroxy-Δ9,11-hexahydrocannabinol; 9β.

These newly found substances are yellow oils at room temperature, except for one which is a white powder. Other researchers had already synthesized a few of these cannabinoids, but didn’t know they naturally occurred in the plant.

Scientists isolated these substances and tested them on mice. They found that a few of them got the mice high – just like the psychoactive cannabinoid THC can do – while others had different effects.