What you need to know about terpenes and flavonoids
Cannabis plants are packed full of chemical compounds that all contribute to what we call a full-profile or full-spectrum experience. Terpenes and flavonoids may be some of the most influential of those compounds.
What are terpenes and flavonoids?
Terpenes, sometimes called terps, are aromatic oils that give plants their smell and taste. Plants develop them as a way to ward off possible predators, e.g., animals eating them. The combination of total terpenes in a plant is the plant’s terpene profile. There are over 20,000 terpenes across all plants; cannabis plants are believed to hold at least 150 of those terps. The most common cannabis terpenes include: myrcene, limonene, pinene, beta caryophyllene, terpinolene, ocimene, humulene, and linalool.
Flavonoids, we don’t know so much about yet. What we do know is that flavonoids are similar to terpenes in that they contribute to a plant’s aroma, but may have their own therapeutic properties. Scientists are still learning the exact role they play in the experiences we feel. Like terpenes, flavonoids exist in all plants. Common cannabis flavonoids in cannabis are Cannaflavin A, Cannaflavin B, Cannaflavin C, Kaempferol, Quercetin, and Orientin. Much more scientific research is needed before we make any concrete claims about these flavonoids and their role in the cannabis experience.
What do terpenes and flavonoids do?
There is little research on cannabis flavonoids and the cannabis industry doesn't yet know the best way to consume them. Terpenes, however, are a different story. Up until this point, the industry has always used the sativa/indica/hybrid plant distinctions as guides toward uplifted, sedative, and in-between effects. This is not scientifically accurate. Instead, cannabis terpenes, and the way they interact with the other plant compounds, are believed to steer the direction of your high.
Myrcene is believed to have sedative qualities; limonene, uplifting; caryophyllene, stress-relieving; and linalool, relaxing.
When you feel uplifted and relaxed after consuming a strain like the world famous Blue Dream, it is not because the plant was sativa-dominant. It is because the plant holds a mixture of myrcene, pinene, and caryophyllene, in addition to the rest of its chemical profile. Thus, when choosing which well-balanced experience you want when vaping PAX Live Rosin, you should follow the product’s Certificate of Analysis (COA).
