CBG Clinical Trial Shows Promising Results for Anxiety and Stress

A little-known compound present in cannabis plants is gaining attention and may eventually challenge CBD (cannabidiol).

The first human clinical trial examining cannabigerol (CBG) for anxiety and stress has produced promising findings in 34 healthy participants.

CBG has lately been dubbed the “mother of all cannabinoids” because it can be quickly converted into CBD and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), cannabis’s psychoactive compound.

CBG trial results for anxiety and stress

In the latest trial, people who consumed a CBG tincture reported notably lower anxiety and stress during the hour after taking it than they did after receiving a placebo.

Researchers were also surprised to find that participants performed slightly better in verbal-memory assessments after taking CBG.

Earlier research has shown that cannabis products containing THC reduce verbal-memory scores by roughly the same amount.

Like CBD, though, CBG does not produce THC’s intoxicating effects.

Psychologist Carrie Cuttler of Washington State University and her colleagues are interested in the findings. However, they are keen to prevent excitement surrounding the growing CBG market from getting ahead of the evidence, as happened with CBD.

"It would also be interesting to examine whether CBG might offset the detrimental effects of THC on verbal memory, as CBD was initially purported to do, until multiple attempts to replicate those findings failed," write the authors in their published paper.

Evidence behind CBG and CBD claims

CBD is currently the best-known non-intoxicating cannabinoid, and may help treat insomnia, anxiety and perhaps chronic pain. Nevertheless, while many CBD products are promoted as cure-alls, scientific support for numerous such claims is weak or entirely absent.

That situation is even more pronounced for CBG.

"We need to avoid claims that CBG is a miracle drug," warns Cuttler.

"It's new and exciting, but replication and further research are crucial."

CBG occurs in cannabis plants only in trace quantities and has historically been eclipsed by THC and CBD.

Yet, among the approximately 100 cannabinoid compounds scientists have identified in the plant genus so far, CBG has delivered some of the more encouraging outcomes in preclinical research.

Animal studies suggest CBG may have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. In mouse models of childhood epilepsy, it can also lessen seizures.

How the CBG clinical trial was conducted

Before now, just two human clinical trials investigating CBG’s effects had been published, and neither examined whether it could treat anxiety.

Cuttler and her colleagues designed their recent experiments to address that shortfall.

During the first phase of the trial, half of the participants were given a placebo while the remaining half received a CBG tincture. Nobody, including the researchers, knew who had received which treatment.

After consuming the tincture, participants assessed their mood, stress, anxiety and other measures, including intoxication and side effects such as dry eyes or a dry mouth. These ratings were completed 20 minutes, 45 minutes and 60 minutes after ingestion.

The procedure was repeated one week later: those initially assigned the placebo received the tincture, and those who had received the tincture were given the placebo.

The experiments took place remotely via Zoom. Participants who took CBG recorded lower scores on one broad anxiety measure, but not on another, more specific anxiety assessment.

Despite these constraints, the early results on CBG’s possible value for anxiety and stress are consistent with an earlier survey conducted by some of the same authors.

In that survey, most CBG users said they used the extract to manage anxiety. Many respondents also reported that CBG was more effective for them than conventional medicines.

Almost one-third of respondents said they used CBG for depression as well. However, the present trial found no significant effect on participants’ mood.

This could reflect the trial’s low CBG dose, or the already low rates of depression in the small study group.

"CBG is becoming increasingly popular, with more producers making bold, unsubstantiated claims about its effects," says Cuttler.

"Our study is one of the first to provide evidence supporting some of these claims, helping to inform both consumers and the scientific community."

The study was published in Scientific Reports.