by Brittiany Ralls
With humulene being such a common terpene, you had to know we would cover it in this series! Being the third most dominant terpene in cannabis, believe me when I say you are probably getting at least a little of humulene when medicating. Interestingly, humulene tends to be more present in strains that also have larger quantities of caryophyllene. With smells of earth, wood, herb and hops humulene, in conjunction with myrcene and pinene are the main terpenes to give cannabis it’s overall smells we are used to. Working in conjunction with other terpenes and compounds is what humulene: the allocator is all about. As we go over more about the capabilities of humulene you will quickly see why. Humulene being a capable allocator assists in a lot of the roles that the other terpenes play within our endocannabinoid system.
Making this terpene super important in the role it plays.
There is a whole lot to go over when it comes to humulene. This terpene has had a ton of research done and has even more to offer in the balance of the endocannabinoid system. Let’s start with why I’m calling it the allocator. Humulene has been shown to hugely affect pharmacokinetics within our bodies. Which is the way our bodies absorb, distribute, process and expel substances into all the bodily systems. Thus showing the potential for more rapid absorption and availability of topicals and oral consumption of cannabis medicinally. Allocating what is needed to where it needs to go when consuming humulene in conjunction with other terpenes and cannabinoids. Humulene does all this while also being an anti-inflammatory, aiding in cancer cell termination and being an appetite suppressant. I know, I know….. It’s crazy to think something like cannabis that typically gives you the munchies, also actually has the ability to help patients suppress their appetite. There are a ton of weight loss success stories associated with cannabis use and I bet humulene had a little to do with helping those success stories.
As we stated above, humulene being so common means it will be in strains that you recognize easily. Some of these strains include Original Glue, Candyland, and Headband. All strains that boast effects of euphoria, happiness, and energy. All things I know most of us could use a little more in our lives. Knowing that humulene is a more common terpene means you know you are probably consuming it more often than you may realize. But with all the medicinal benefits of humulene and its allocating abilities, making sure you are consuming cannabis that has humulene should only be a quick question to your budtender. Even if they don’t know off hand, no biggie, just ask to see the testing that should be available per Oklahoma state requirements. As we have gone along in our terpene journey so far, we can see the benefits of knowing more and more about the cannabis we consume and how the terpenes that are available may be more beneficial in certain ways than others.
