Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA)

Cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, is the first cannabinoid acid the hemp plant makes and the precursor to most others.

The plant builds CBGA from two smaller molecules, olivetolic acid and geranyl pyrophosphate. Specialized enzymes then convert CBGA into cannabidiolic acid, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or cannabichromenic acid, which is why it is often described as the starting point of cannabinoid biosynthesis. Whatever CBGA is left over becomes CBG when heated.

Because it is consumed during the plant's growth, CBGA is usually present at low levels in mature hemp and is reported on a certificate of analysis as a small percentage or as part of total CBG. It is chiefly a chemistry and plant-science term; research on CBGA itself is early and largely preclinical. Readers do not need to weigh it when reading a product label beyond recognizing it as part of the cannabinoid profile.