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From the plant

CBCCannabichromene

One of the four main cannabis scaffolds; a potent TRPA1 channel agonist in vitro.

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Level of detail

C₂₁H₃₀O₂

CAS 20675-51-8

Family
PhytocannabinoidPrincipal
Origin
Decarboxylation
First described
1966
Molar mass
314.46 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

CBC is the neutral form of CBCA, one of the four acids the plant makes with its enzymes. In the laboratory it mainly activates the TRPA1 channel and, according to some studies, the CB2 receptor. No human trial has studied its effects when taken on its own.

Receptors and activity

Target network

TRPA1AgonistEC50 = 90 nM · ratIntracellular Ca2+ (fluorescence), HEK-293 expressing rat TRPA1; efficacy 119% of allyl isothiocyanate
  • Activates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to CBC: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.

Where these targets live

Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of CBC.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

TRPA1TRPA1 found in 4 regions of the body

  1. Sensory gangliapresentDorsal root ganglion neurons1
  2. Spinal cordpresentSpinal cord motor neurons1
  3. GutpresentIntestinal myenteric plexus neurons1
  4. SkinpresentBasal keratinocytes of the skin1

Map sources

  1. Anand U et al. TRPA1 receptor localisation in the human peripheral nervous system and functional studies in cultured human and rat sensory neurons. Neurosci Lett, 2008 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. TRPA1AgonistEC50 = 90 nM · rat51 out of 100

    De Petrocellis et al. 2011, Br J Pharmacol (new tab) · Intracellular Ca2+ (fluorescence), HEK-293 expressing rat TRPA1; efficacy 119% of allyl isothiocyanate

  2. TRPV1Partial agonistEC50 = 24.2 µM · human10 out of 100

    De Petrocellis et al. 2011, Br J Pharmacol (new tab) · Intracellular Ca2+, HEK-293 expressing human TRPV1; efficacy < 10% of ionomycin

  3. CB2Partial agonistKi = 27 nM · human59 out of 100

    Zagzoog et al. 2020, Sci Rep (new tab) · [3H]CP55940 displacement, CHO-hCB2 membranes; cAMP inhibition Emax 76% of CP55940

  4. CB1Partial agonistno measured value cited
Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Measured effects

Not characterised. No placebo-controlled human trial has measured the effects of CBC, so no level is shown.

Levels computed from placebo-controlled human trials: difference from placebo on 100, at the dose and route stated. Read the method

Pharmacology

CBC belongs to the four major scaffolds (CBG, Δ9-THC, CBD, CBC and their acids) from which heat, light and oxygen generate much of the chemical diversity of cannabis (Hanuš 2016; Maioli 2022); Walsh et al. 2021, who count only THC and CBD as major, describe it as "one of the most abundant minor cannabinoids". Isolated from hashish in 1966 (Gaoni & Mechoulam), it derives from CBCA, formed from CBGA by CBCA synthase (Morimoto 1998). Natural CBC is scalemic: the enantiomeric excess and the dominant enantiomer vary between strains (Calcaterra 2023). In vitro, it was the most potent of the six phytocannabinoids tested at the TRPA1 channel (EC50 = 60 nM; De Petrocellis 2008), with an EC50 of 90 nM at rat TRPA1 in a second study, in which its efficacy at human TRPV1 stayed below 10 % (EC50 = 24.2 µM; De Petrocellis 2011). At the human CB2 receptor, one study reports a Ki of 27 nM and partial agonism (Zagzoog 2020); another measures an EC50 of 1.5 µM for (−)-CBC, at 60 % of the maximal effect of CP55940, with (+)-CBC inactive up to 30 µM (Udoh 2025). At the CB1 receptor, results diverge: only partial displacement of the radioligand in one study (Zagzoog 2020), no activation of human CB1 in another (Udoh 2019). In cultured adult mouse neural stem and progenitor cells, CBC increased viability and slowed differentiation into astrocytes (Shinjyo & Di Marzo 2013). Exposed to light, CBCA can convert into CBLA, a photochemical artefact (Radwan 2021). No controlled trial has evaluated CBC given on its own in humans.

Key sources.

History

Source
Plant (neutral form arising from decarboxylation of CBCA)

Biosynthetic pathway

CBCA synthase converts CBGA, and more slowly cannabinerolic acid, into CBCA by oxidocyclisation (Morimoto 1998). Neutral CBC then forms by non-enzymatic decarboxylation (heat, light, ageing).

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Phytocannabinoid › Principal

Presence in the plant

Neutral form: decarboxylation of a plant acid

Chemistry

Type CBC · C5 side chain · neutral form

Verification

Every fact on this entry was checked against its primary sources on 20 October 2026.

Wikipedia (English)

Cannabichromene (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

References

  1. Morimoto et al. 1998, Phytochemistry: CBCA synthase (new tab)PMID 9862135
  2. De Petrocellis et al. 2011, Br J Pharmacol: TRP channels (new tab)PMID 21175579
  3. Zagzoog et al. 2020, Sci Rep: human CB1/CB2 (new tab)PMID 33230154
  4. Udoh et al. 2025, Cannabis Cannabinoid Res: enantiomers and CB2 (new tab)PMID 39137108
  5. Calcaterra et al. 2023, J Nat Prod: scalemic natural CBC (new tab)PMID 37023389
  6. Peters et al. 2022, Eur J Clin Pharmacol: human pharmacokinetics (new tab)PMID 34664109
  7. Shinjyo & Di Marzo 2013, Neurochem Int: neural stem cells (new tab)PMID 23941747

Identifiers

Names

Common name
Cannabichromene
IUPAC name
2-methyl-2-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)-7-pentylchromen-5-ol

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₁H₃₀O₂
CAS
20675-51-8
PubChem CID
30219(new tab)
ChEBI
3357(new tab)
InChIKey
UVOLYTDXHDXWJU-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CCCCCC1=CC(=C2C=CC(OC2=C1)(C)CCC=C(C)C)O

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.

In the Journal