Cannabichromene

Cannabichromene at a Glance

Cannabichromene (CBC) is a non-intoxicating minor cannabinoid, present in cannabis at far lower levels than THC or CBD.

Its pharmacology is distinctive: it works mainly through TRP ion channels — the same receptor family that senses heat, cold and irritants — rather than through the CB1 receptor, which is why it produces no intoxication.

Its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antidepressant-like signals are preclinical only. The one thing measured in people is how it is absorbed — and it appears to be absorbed better than the cannabinoids it travels with.

A Cannabinoid That Skips the Cannabinoid Receptor

CBC is a phytocannabinoid by chemistry and almost not one by pharmacology.

At CB1 — the receptor THC activates — CBC has only weak affinity, which is why it produces no intoxication. What it activates instead is the TRP family, the ion channels that detect heat, cold, pressure and chemical irritants. In a systematic comparison of cannabinoids at TRP channels, CBC was among the most potent phytocannabinoid agonists of TRPA1, with an EC50 around 90 nM ^{1Reference 1De Petrocellis L et al. · 2011In vitroEffects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes — in vitroView study →}, and also activated TRPV3 and TRPV4.

TRPA1 is worth understanding, because it is not a subtle target. It is the receptor that responds to mustard oil, cinnamaldehyde, garlic and tear gas, and it sits on sensory neurons where it initiates pain and neurogenic inflammation. An agonist of it is, at first glance, an irritant rather than an analgesic.

The resolution is that sustained TRPA1 agonism desensitises the channel, and that is the same logic by which capsaicin — a TRPV1 agonist — is used as a topical analgesic. It also means the direction of the effect is genuinely context-dependent: whether an agonist relieves pain or causes it depends on dose, duration and tissue. That ambiguity is the honest reading of CBC’s analgesic signal, and it is why the rat antinociception result ^{2Reference 2Maione S et al. · 2011AnimalNon-psychoactive cannabinoids modulate the descending pathway of antinociception in anaesthetized rats through several mechanisms of action — rat modelView study →} should not be read as a simple painkilling mechanism.

The wider point is that “cannabinoid” describes CBC’s biosynthetic origin, not its pharmacology. Nothing about its activity follows from the endocannabinoid system.

What It's Used For

Cannabichromene is one of the more abundant of the minor cannabinoids, and non-intoxicating. What makes it interesting pharmacologically is that it largely bypasses the classical CB1 receptor and works instead through the TRP ion channels — it is one of the most potent phytocannabinoid agonists of TRPA1 (EC50 ≈ 90 nM), and also activates TRPV3 and TRPV4 ^{1Reference 1De Petrocellis L et al. · 2011In vitroEffects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes — in vitroView study →}.

Through those and other non-CB targets it shows analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant-like and pro-neurogenic signals — all in animal or cell studies only. It’s also a common example of a compound cited to support the “entourage” idea that minor cannabinoids shape whole-plant effects.

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

01Analgesic & anti-inflammatoryShaky40%Rat antinociception + potent TRPA1 agonism in vitro ^{1,2Reference 1De Petrocellis L et al. · 2011In vitroEffects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes — in vitroView study →Reference 2Maione S et al. · 2011AnimalNon-psychoactive cannabinoids modulate the descending pathway of antinociception in anaesthetized rats through several mechanisms of action — rat modelView study →}

02Antidepressant-likeShaky34%Mouse forced-swim / tail-suspension tests ^{3Reference 3El-Alfy AT et al. · 2010AnimalAntidepressant-like effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids isolated from Cannabis sativa L. — mouse behavioural modelView study →}

03Neural stem/progenitor supportShaky26%In-vitro mouse neural stem-cell study ^{4Reference 4Shinjyo N · 2013In vitroThe effect of cannabichromene on adult neural stem/progenitor cells — in vitroView study →}

Mechanisms

Clinical trials

CBC has no completed human efficacy trial for any indication. Its only human data come from a secondary pharmacokinetic analysis inside a trial of a multi-cannabinoid oil ^{5Reference 5Peters EN et al. · 2022RCTPharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, humanView study →}.

Last checked: September 2026.

Pharmacokinetics

CBC’s one human dataset is a secondary analysis, and it produced a more interesting result than a dedicated study might have.

Forty-three participants took an oral cannabis oil containing CBD, THC and CBC in a fixed ratio, twice daily for seven days, across four dose levels ^{5Reference 5Peters EN et al. · 2022RCTPharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, humanView study →}. Plasma CBC rose with dose — Cmax increased 1.3- to 1.8-fold for each doubling — with a tmax of 1.6 to 4.3 hours.

The comparison inside the product is the notable part. CBD was dosed 18 times higher than CBC, yet CBD’s exposure was only 6.6- to 9.8-fold higher. And although THC was given at a dose similar to CBC’s, THC was quantifiable in fewer plasma samples than CBC. The authors’ conclusion is that CBC may be preferentially absorbed relative to CBD and THC when the three are given together ^{5Reference 5Peters EN et al. · 2022RCTPharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, humanView study →}.

Two caveats keep that in proportion. It is a single pilot analysis in a fixed-ratio product, so CBC-specific absorption cannot be separated from formulation effects; and no absolute bioavailability figure exists, because no intravenous reference was given. But it is a real measurement, and it points the opposite way from the usual assumption that a minor cannabinoid is also a poorly absorbed one.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

Everything preclinical is the isolate: purified CBC in rats ^{2Reference 2Maione S et al. · 2011AnimalNon-psychoactive cannabinoids modulate the descending pathway of antinociception in anaesthetized rats through several mechanisms of action — rat modelView study →}, in mouse behavioural tests ^{3Reference 3El-Alfy AT et al. · 2010AnimalAntidepressant-like effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids isolated from Cannabis sativa L. — mouse behavioural modelView study →} and in cultured neural stem cells ^{4Reference 4Shinjyo N · 2013In vitroThe effect of cannabichromene on adult neural stem/progenitor cells — in vitroView study →}.

The one human dataset is the reverse — a plant-derived multi-cannabinoid oil in which CBC was a minor component alongside CBD and THC ^{5Reference 5Peters EN et al. · 2022RCTPharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, humanView study →}. That is a genuine limitation for reading its pharmacokinetics, since the co-administered cannabinoids may be part of why CBC was absorbed as well as it was. It is also, awkwardly, closer to how CBC is actually consumed than an isolate study would be: nobody takes CBC alone.

CBC is one of the compounds most often invoked in entourage arguments — the claim that minor cannabinoids shape the effect of whole-plant preparations. No study has tested it. The absorption finding is the only measurement that bears on the question at all, and it concerns pharmacokinetics rather than effect.

Its Role in Plants

CBC is the third product of the cannabinoid pathway, and the least discussed. Cannabis makes cannabigerolic acid, and three FAD-dependent synthases compete for it: THCA synthase, CBDA synthase, and CBCA synthase, which routes it to cannabichromenic acid ^{6,7Reference 6Fulvio F et al. · 2021Analysis of sequence variability and transcriptional profile of cannabinoid synthase genes in Cannabis sativa L. chemotypes with a focus on cannabichromenic acid synthaseView study →Reference 7Taura F et al. · 1996Purification and characterization of cannabidiolic-acid synthase from Cannabis sativa L.: biochemical analysis of a novel enzyme that catalyzes the oxidocyclization of cannabigerolic acid to cannabidiolic acidView study →}. Heat then decarboxylates CBCA to CBC, exactly as it does for the other two — see tetrahydrocannabinol for the chemistry.

CBCA synthase behaves differently from its two siblings. Sequence and transcription analysis across cannabis chemotypes found the CBCA synthase gene family to be more variable and less clearly tied to chemotype than the THCA and CBDA synthase genes ^{6Reference 6Fulvio F et al. · 2021Analysis of sequence variability and transcriptional profile of cannabinoid synthase genes in Cannabis sativa L. chemotypes with a focus on cannabichromenic acid synthaseView study →} — which fits the observation that CBC turns up in small amounts across chemotypes rather than defining one of its own.

Like the other cannabinoids, CBCA accumulates in the glandular trichomes of the female inflorescence.

Prevalence in Nature

CBC is a Cannabis sativa compound — one of the hundred-plus phytocannabinoids catalogued from the plant ^{8Reference 8Hanuš LO et al. · 2016ReviewPhytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory — reviewView study →}, with no other genus an established source.

It is genuinely minor. In the DEA survey of seized cannabis from 2013 to 2022, every cannabinoid other than THC sat below 0.5% of dried material apart from CBG and CBN, which reached up to 1% ^{9Reference 9ElSohly MA et al. · 2024ObservationalA 10-year trend in cannabis potency (2013–2022) in different geographical regions of the United States of America — observationalView study →} — placing CBC in the under-0.5% group. It is often described as more abundant in young plants and in tropical landraces, but no quantitative survey supports a specific figure, and unlike CBG and CBD there is no CBC-dominant chemotype in commercial cultivation.

No percentage figure for CBC in any cannabis material has been published that could be compared across sources, which is why no Content by Source chart appears here.

Major Natural Sources

Source	Part	Level	Note
Drug-type cannabis (Cannabis sativa)	dried female inflorescence	under 0.5%	below CBG and CBN in the same samples 9Reference 9ElSohly MA et al. · 2024ObservationalA 10-year trend in cannabis potency (2013–2022) in different geographical regions of the United States of America — observationalView study →
Cannabis, young plants	immature inflorescence	often described as higher	no quantitative survey supports a figure
Cannabis	leaf, stem, seed, root	negligible	no glandular trichomes to speak of

Discovery & Synthesis

CBC was reported in 1966 by Gaoni and Mechoulam, two years after they characterised THC, in a paper titled Cannabichromene, a new active principle in hashish ^{10Reference 10Gaoni Y · 1966Cannabichromene, a new active principle in hashishView study →}. It came out of the same systematic working-through of the neutral fraction of hashish that produced most of the cannabinoids now sold individually.

Supply is isolation and synthesis rather than agriculture. Because no chemotype accumulates CBC in quantity, research and commercial material is obtained by chromatographic separation from cannabinoid-rich extracts, or made synthetically. That is a meaningful difference from CBD and CBG, both of which have plants bred to produce them.

Patents: not yet researched (future patent-loop pass).

Toxicity & Safety

CBC is non-intoxicating and regarded as well tolerated in the limited preclinical work available. It has never been given to humans on its own: the only human exposure on record is inside a fixed-ratio oil alongside CBD and THC, where any tolerability finding belongs to the product rather than to CBC ^{5Reference 5Peters EN et al. · 2022RCTPharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, humanView study →}. Its safety profile, effective dose and drug interactions are therefore unknown.

One caution follows from the pharmacology rather than from any study. CBC is a potent TRPA1 agonist ^{1Reference 1De Petrocellis L et al. · 2011In vitroEffects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes — in vitroView study →}, and TRPA1 is the channel that mediates the sting of mustard oil and the irritant response of the airway — so a topical or inhaled route is not obviously equivalent to an oral one, and has not been tested. As with any cannabis-derived product, purity and labelled content of commercial CBC preparations vary.

Dosage

There is no established human dose for CBC, and nothing here is a recommendation.

The human figures are the CBC content of a multi-cannabinoid product used for a different purpose, not doses at which CBC was shown to do anything. Commercial products lack a research-backed dosing basis. These are doses studied in research and are not a personal recommendation.

References

1. De Petrocellis L, Ligresti A, Moriello AS, et al. (2011). Effects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes — in vitro. British Journal of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21175579/
2. Maione S, Piscitelli F, Gatta L, et al. (2011). Non-psychoactive cannabinoids modulate the descending pathway of antinociception in anaesthetized rats through several mechanisms of action — rat model. British Journal of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20942863/
3. El-Alfy AT, Ivey K, Robinson K, et al. (2010). Antidepressant-like effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids isolated from Cannabis sativa L. — mouse behavioural model. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20332000/
4. Shinjyo N, Di Marzo V (2013). The effect of cannabichromene on adult neural stem/progenitor cells — in vitro. Neurochemistry International. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23941747/
5. Peters EN, MacNair L, Mosesova I, et al. (2022). Pharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study — randomised, human. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34664109/
6. Fulvio F, Paris R, Montanari M, et al. (2021). Analysis of sequence variability and transcriptional profile of cannabinoid synthase genes in Cannabis sativa L. chemotypes with a focus on cannabichromenic acid synthase. Plants. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34579390/
7. Taura F, Morimoto S, Shoyama Y (1996). Purification and characterization of cannabidiolic-acid synthase from Cannabis sativa L.: biochemical analysis of a novel enzyme that catalyzes the oxidocyclization of cannabigerolic acid to cannabidiolic acid. Journal of Biological Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8663284/
8. Hanuš LO, Meyer SM, Muñoz E, et al. (2016). Phytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory — review. Natural Product Reports. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27722705/
9. ElSohly MA, Majumdar CG, Chandra S, et al. (2024). A 10-year trend in cannabis potency (2013–2022) in different geographical regions of the United States of America — observational. Frontiers in Public Health. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39421827/
10. Gaoni Y, Mechoulam R (1966). Cannabichromene, a new active principle in hashish. Chemical Communications. https://doi.org/10.1039/c19660000020

View all 10 references▾