Flavanoids: What Are They?

Cannabis: The Plant of Innumerable Compounds

• Cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids, oh my! Exploring the less-talked-about cannabis-derived flavonoids.

Do you realize how deep the science of cannabis will eventually go?

Researchers have identified well over 100 cannabinoids yet most people can only name 2.

Given the sheer number of cannabinoids available to study, the permutation of them all will give researchers new ideas to explore until the end of time.

Add in the vast number of terpenoids and we may never know everything there is to know about cannabis.

Finally, we have to consider the flavonoids, and it becomes a labyrinth of future research.

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What Are Cannabis-Derived Flavonoids?

A 2016 study pointed out that “flavonoids, a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures, are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea and wine.” Essentially, they add to the flavor and pharmacological properties of the plant.

The paper, which was published in the Journal of Nutritional Science, also pointed out how valuable these compounds are. The authors said that terpenes are “now considered as an indispensable component in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, medicinal and cosmetic applications.”

But what does that mean when flavonoids are found in cannabis?

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What Do Flavonoids Do?

A recent paper, from 2019, looked at the pharmacological properties of flavonoids in cannabis.

While much of the talk in the industry about helping people with cancer revolves around the major cannabinoids, this research shows that non-cannabinoids may play a role in treating some forms of cancer.

The paper, published in Frontiers in Oncology, showed that a cannabis-derived flavonoid, FBL-03G, “can induce apoptosis and inhibit cancer cell proliferation with optimized drug concentrations” in preclinical models of metastatic pancreatic cancer, which has a horrifying 5-year survival rate of just 8%.

Their results demonstrated that flavonoids may:

• Enhance radiotherapy outcomes

• Inhibit tumor growth with or without radiotherapy

Another paper from 2019 showed that cannflavin A, another cannabis flavonoid, may have both hormetic and neuroprotective effects.

The research, published in the journal, Biochemical Pharmacology, noted that this particular flavonoid, “may itself direct further lead development targeting neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.”

However, flavonoids don’t just act on their own. Earlier research from 2016 showed us that flavonoids can have a significant impact on how cannabinoids interact with the human body.

Of the over 540 compounds found in cannabis, it’s becoming more clear that they are all important.

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