Tetrahydrocannabivarin

Molecular analysis of genetic fidelity in Cannabis sativa L. plants grown from synthetic (encapsulated) seeds following in vitro storage.[Pubmed:21805186]

Biotechnol Lett. 2011 Dec;33(12):2503-8.

The increasing utilization of synthetic (encapsulated) seeds for germplasm conservation and propagation necessitates the assessment of genetic stability of conserved propagules following their plantlet conversion. We have assessed the genetic stability of synthetic seeds of Cannabis sativa L. during in vitro multiplication and storage for 6 months at different growth conditions using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) DNA fingerprinting. Molecular analysis of randomly selected plants from each batch was conducted using 14 ISSR markers. Of the 14 primers tested, nine produced 40 distinct and reproducible bands. All the ISSR profiles from in vitro stored plants were monomorphic and comparable to the mother plant which confirms the genetic stability among the clones. GC analysis of six major cannabinoids [Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, Tetrahydrocannabivarin, cannabidiol, cannabichromene, cannabigerol and cannabinol] showed homogeneity in the re-grown clones and the mother plant with insignificant differences in cannabinoids content, thereby confirming the stability of plants derived from synthetic seeds following 6 months storage.

Neural effects of cannabinoid CB1 neutral antagonist tetrahydrocannabivarin on food reward and aversion in healthy volunteers.[Pubmed:25542687]

Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2014 Dec 25;18(6). pii: pyu094.

BACKGROUND: Disturbances in the regulation of reward and aversion in the brain may underlie disorders such as obesity and eating disorders. We previously showed that the cannabis receptor subtype (CB1) inverse agonist rimonabant, an antiobesity drug withdrawn due to depressogenic side effects, diminished neural reward responses yet increased aversive responses (Horder et al., 2010). Unlike rimonabant, Tetrahydrocannabivarin is a neutral CB1 receptor antagonist (Pertwee, 2005) and may therefore produce different modulations of the neural reward system. We hypothesized that Tetrahydrocannabivarin would, unlike rimonabant, leave intact neural reward responses but augment aversive responses. METHODS: We used a within-subject, double-blind design. Twenty healthy volunteers received a single dose of Tetrahydrocannabivarin (10mg) and placebo in randomized order on 2 separate occasions. We measured the neural response to rewarding (sight and/or flavor of chocolate) and aversive stimuli (picture of moldy strawberries and/or a less pleasant strawberry taste) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Volunteers rated pleasantness, intensity, and wanting for each stimulus. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups in subjective ratings. However, Tetrahydrocannabivarin increased responses to chocolate stimuli in the midbrain, anterior cingulate cortex, caudate, and putamen. Tetrahydrocannabivarin also increased responses to aversive stimuli in the amygdala, insula, mid orbitofrontal cortex, caudate, and putamen. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are the first to show that treatment with the CB1 neutral antagonist Tetrahydrocannabivarin increases neural responding to rewarding and aversive stimuli. This effect profile suggests therapeutic activity in obesity, perhaps with a lowered risk of depressive side effects.