You’re walking through a purple field as the aroma of lavender fills your senses instantly relaxing and calming you, relieving you of that nagging pain that never seems to disappear and giving your muscles a needed break…
Meet the cannabis terpene, Linalool.
The cannabis terpene linalool is found in a variety of flowers and spices like cinnamon, coriander and ylang ylang. It is antimicrobial, reduces anxiety and depression, and has anti-epileptic properties. Linalool is found in over 200 plants making it one of the most common of the terpenes. It has a floral and spicy aroma and is the main compound in lavender, giving it that familiar relaxing smell.
As shared in our previous post, terpenes are kinda like food flavouring and occur naturally in all plants. They give many plants, including the cannabis plant, their flavour and aroma. Dr. Russo, a leading cannabinoid researcher, discovered that terpenes “could produce synergy with respect to treatment of pain, inflammation, depression, anxiety, addiction, epilepsy, cancer, fungal and bacterial infections.”
Linalool has a history of use in traditional medicine where it has been used to treat anxiety disorders and epilepsy. Linalool is frequently used in massage oils, balms, moisturizers and fragrances due to its calming, relaxing effects. This terpene can be used as a topical application directly to the skin or by ingesting through oils under the tongue or capsules.
The Benefits of Linalool
Linalool is best known for its effects in creating more calm and relaxation, but it also helps with reducing anxiety and depression in its users. It can also reduce blood pressure and heart rate, bringing the body back into a natural resting state.
Linalool & Immunity
Linalool has been shown to help strengthen the immune system due to its natural reductive qualities surrounding stress. Immunity tends to drop with stress, age and pre-existing illnesses. Linalool has the ability to reduce the impact on the immune system from unforeseen stresses and more prolonged stressors such as depression.
Linalool & Epilepsy
Linalool has anti-epileptic properties that take place within the brain for some sufferers of epilepsy. Linalool has the ability to block receptors for a neurotransmitter called glutamate. Glutamate is an excitatory neuron that has been attributed to epileptic seizures in some people. Seizures occur when there is excessive electrical activity within the neural networks of the brain. By minimizing the reception of glutamate, the risk of seizures is also reduced.
Linalool the Muscle Relaxant
Linalool also has the ability to relax the muscles and relieve users of pain through its natural capability of reducing another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a brain chemical that is released from nerve cells. Linalool can reduce the strength of the acetylcholine, which controls muscle contraction and movement. As far as being a pain reliever, linalool reduces the activation of spinal cord cells that send pain signals to the brain. This is a great relief in those suffering from chronic pain who wish to reduce their intake of pills.
The Entourage Effect
Cannabidiol (CBD), another compound found inside the wonderful hemp plant, is an anxiolytic (reduces anxiety), anti-inflammatory, sedative, and analgesic on its own. Linalool also possesses the same pain-relieving qualities, so when combined, these two compounds further enhance the relief for users. This is referred to as the entourage effect. When two or more compounds join forces to enhance the strength and effectiveness of each other far more than if it were just one compound on its own.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12587692
CBD is also known to be an antiepileptic, so together, people with certain forms of epilepsy may receive double the benefit by using products containing CBD and linalool. Both compounds are also antimicrobial, which gives the body two additional tools to fight fungal and bacterial infections.
Beyond terpenes, whole plant full spectrum hemp oil products also offer additional compounds called cannabinoids. Examples of cannabinoids include CBD, CBG and THCA, which both provide benefits to the individual.
Cannabinoids each offer their own advantages, and they work together with other cannabinoids and terpenes, a term which has been coined “the entourage effect.”
So if you’ve been wondering about the cannabis terpene linalool and how it can better serve you, we hope you’ve found this article of value.
Linck, V. M., A. L. da Silva, M. Figueiró , E. B. Caramão, P. R. Moreno, and E. Elisabetsky. “Effects of Inhaled Linalool in Anxiety, Social Interaction and Aggressive Behavior in Mice.” Phytomedicine 17, no. 8-9 (July 2010): 679-83. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.10.002
Henrique Leal-Cardosoa, José, Kerly Shamyra da Silva-Alvesa, Francisco Walber Ferreira-da-Silva, Tiago dos Santos-Nascimento, Humberto Cavalcante Joca, Flávio Henrique Pequeno de Macedo, Pedro Militão Albuquerque-Neto, et al. “Linalool Blocks Excitability in Peripheral Nerves and Voltage-Dependent Na+ Current in Dissociated Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons.” European Journal of Pharmacology 645, no. 1-3 (October 2010): 86-93. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299910007119.
Kaplan, Josh. “What Is Linalool & What Are the Effects of This Cannabis Terpene?” Leafly. April 23, 2018. Accessed November 13, 2018. www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/linalool-cannabis-terpene-benefits.
