CBC is the minor cannabinoid that researchers keep returning to and consumers rarely hear about. Unlike CBN, it is made directly by the plant. In laboratory studies, it acts on targets its better-known relatives affect differently: in one systematic comparison, CBC was the most potent phytocannabinoid tested at activating TRPA1, a sensory channel involved in pain and inflammation.[1] It has also reduced inflammation in several animal models. But no trial has tested isolated CBC as a treatment; the only direct human evidence specific to CBC comes from a pharmacokinetic analysis within a mixed-cannabinoid trial. Its therapeutic reputation rests almost entirely on preclinical research.
What Is CBC and Where Does It Come From?
Cannabis builds cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and then hands it to one of three enzymes. One makes THCA, one makes CBDA, and one, cannabichromenic acid synthase, converts CBGA to cannabichromenic acid (CBCA).[2] Heat or time then removes the carboxyl group and CBCA becomes CBC, the same decarboxylation that turns THCA into THC.[3] Our decarboxylation explainer covers that step; our CBG profile covers the precursor; and our guide to cannabinoids shows how the whole family fits together.
Most cannabis produces only small amounts of CBC.[3] Breeders can select for CBC-rich plants because CBC production, and its persistence as the plant matures, are influenced by heritable traits,[4] and our article on chemovars with high minor cannabinoids looks at plants bred that way. CBC is generally considered non-intoxicating because it has little activity at CB1, the receptor principally responsible for THC’s characteristic effects.[3] Isolated CBC, however, has not been adequately tested in people.
| Formula | C21H30O2 |
|---|---|
| Molar mass | 314.5 g/mol |
| CAS number | 20675-51-8 |
| Plant form | Cannabichromenic acid (CBCA); CBC after decarboxylation |
| Sibling cannabinoids | THC, CBD and CBG share the CBGA precursor; CBN forms from THC by oxidation |
How Does CBC Act in the Body?
Everything in this section comes from cells, tissue or animals.
- Cannabinoid receptors: CBC binds CB1 and CB2 weakly, with reported affinities spanning a wide range, and its action at CB1 is unclear. At CB2 it behaves as an agonist in signaling assays.[3] Our guide to the endocannabinoid system explains what those receptors do.
- TRP channels: In one systematic cell study, CBC was the most potent phytocannabinoid tested at activating TRPA1, a channel on sensory nerves that detects irritants. It also activates TRPV1, TRPV3 and TRPV4 and weakly blocks TRPM8, the cold-sensing channel.[1,3]
- Endocannabinoid enzymes: CBC inhibits the enzyme that breaks down the endocannabinoid 2-AG, but not the one that breaks down anandamide.[1,3]
Because several of these targets sit on pain and inflammation pathways, CBC is often described as a candidate anti-inflammatory. That is a hypothesis drawn from receptor data.
What Does the Preclinical Record Show?
- Pain (mice and rats): In a 2024 study, injected CBC reduced mechanical hypersensitivity after nerve injury, lengthened the time to withdraw from heat, and reduced formalin-evoked pain behavior, on some tests comparably to indomethacin; it did not relieve cold sensitivity.[5] Earlier, CBC delivered into a rat pain-control center raised the pain threshold.[3]
- Gut inflammation (mice): CBC normalized irritant-induced intestinal hypermotility without affecting healthy mice,[6] and reduced colon inflammation in a colitis model.[7]
- Lung injury (mice): In an induced ARDS-like model, mice received three inhaled CBC doses during an eight-day experiment. Compared with untreated animals, they had blood oxygen saturation about eight percentage points higher, lower inflammatory cytokine measurements, and altered TRP-channel expression in lung tissue.[8] See our piece on CBC and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
- Brain cells (mouse cells): CBC increased the viability of adult neural stem/progenitor cells in culture and altered their differentiation, including reducing differentiation into astroglia.[9] A later study pushed a mouse motor-neuron cell line toward a neuronal pattern of gene expression.[10]
- Bacteria (lab): CBC and CBCA were among the cannabinoids active against drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a dish.[11]
- Skin cells (human cells): CBC reduced sebum-like lipid production and inflammatory signaling in cultured human sebaceous cells, the basis of the “anti-acne” claim.[12]
- Cancer cells (cell lines): In bladder cancer cell lines, CBC and THC together caused cell-cycle arrest and cell death and slowed cell migration, and blocking CB1 and CB2 reduced the effect.[13] Our article on cannabichromene for bladder cancer covers that study.
At a glance, here is where each claim you will see on a CBC label stands.
| Claim | Best evidence | Model | Tested in people? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pain relief | Reduced pain behavior in several mouse tests[5] | Mice, rats | No |
| Anti-inflammatory | Less gut and lung inflammation in induced models[6,7,8] | Mice | No |
| Brain health, “neurogenesis” | Supports neural stem cells and neuronal gene expression[9,10] | Mouse cells in culture | No |
| Antibacterial | Active against resistant S. aureus[11] | Bacteria in a dish | No |
| Acne | Less sebum-like lipid production[12] | Human skin cells in culture | No |
| Anticancer | Cell death and slower migration in bladder cancer lines[13] | Cell lines | No |
| Mood, sleep, focus | No CBC-specific efficacy study found | — | No |
One more laboratory pattern deserves a mention. In the bladder cancer work, CBC and THC together were more cytotoxic than either alone, and the effect depended on their ratio;[13] in mouse pain tests, CBC added to THC’s effect rather than multiplying it.[3] These are the results that get called the “entourage effect.” An interaction in a dish or a mouse is a reason to run a trial, not a reason to formulate a product, and because most CBC products are blended with CBD or CBG, whatever a user feels cannot be attributed to CBC alone.
Is There Any Human Evidence?
Almost none. As of October 2026, we found no completed or registered clinical trial testing isolated CBC as a treatment for any condition, after searching the ClinicalTrials.gov registry and the medical literature. The only human data come from a pharmacokinetic analysis within a registered, randomized phase 1 trial: 43 healthy adults took a medical cannabis oil containing CBD, THC and a small amount of CBC (up to 26.4 mg a day) for a week, and the researchers measured CBC in their blood. Levels rose with dose, peaked about two to four hours after a dose, and varied widely between people. The study was designed to measure absorption, not effects, and it was funded by the cannabis company that makes the oil.[14] A 2024 review from Penn State and a 2026 review in the Journal of Cannabis Research reached the same conclusion: CBC has promising preclinical pharmacology, and human clinical trials are absent.[3,15]
How Is CBC Sold?
CBC reaches the market as a hemp product, sold in distillates and isolates that are added to oils, gummies, capsules and topicals, often alongside CBD or CBG. Manufacturers may obtain concentrated CBC through plant extraction and purification or through other production routes, but labels do not always disclose the route. Doses on labels are typically a few milligrams to a few tens of milligrams, chosen by manufacturers rather than by any dose-finding study. The 2024 review put it plainly: these products are sold “with little or no evidence of their safety or efficacy.”[3]
Is CBC Safe, and Will It Show on a Drug Test?
Nobody has tested CBC on its own in people, so its safety profile is unknown. The parent phase 1 trial found the combined CBD/THC/CBC oil generally well tolerated, including at a daily CBC content of 26.4 mg. Because participants received much larger quantities of CBD and varying amounts of THC at the same time, it cannot establish the safety of CBC on its own.[14] Nothing is known about long-term use, interactions with medicines, or use in pregnancy.
Standard workplace drug tests confirm a THC metabolite. In the laboratory study that examined two particular urine screening immunoassays, CBC did not produce the cross-reactivity seen with CBN,[16] a result that should not be generalized to every screening assay. The practical risk is residual THC in a product that was not purified well or labeled honestly. A recent, batch-specific certificate of analysis can show how much THC and CBC a product contains, although it is only as reliable as the sampling and testing behind it.
Is CBC Legal?
Hemp-derived CBC has been sold under the 2018 Farm Bill’s definition of hemp, and that definition is scheduled to change in two steps. On November 12, 2026, cannabinoids the plant cannot naturally produce leave the definition; CBC is plant-made, so that exclusion does not catch it. On December 11, 2026, the total-THC standard, a 0.4-milligram total-THC limit per container of finished product, and the exclusion of cannabinoids synthesized or manufactured outside the plant take effect. CBC extracted from hemp is not excluded merely because of what it is, but the finished product would still need to satisfy the new total-THC limits and applicable state law. CBC produced by chemically converting another cannabinoid may fall outside the revised federal definition. Bills to delay or revise the provision are pending in Congress; our guide to the 2026 hemp redefinition has the details.
What Is the Bottom Line?
CBC is a real pharmacological lead, not a marketing invention. It acts on targets that THC and CBD largely miss, and it has reduced pain and inflammation in several animal models. But a lead is all it is. No clinical trial has tested isolated CBC as a treatment, no therapeutic dose has been established, and its safety on its own remains unknown. If you buy a CBC product, you are buying an interesting molecule whose human story has not been written.
References
- De Petrocellis L, Ligresti A, Moriello AS, Allarà M, Bisogno T, Petrosino S, Stott CG, Di Marzo V. Effects of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-enriched Cannabis extracts on TRP channels and endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2011;163(7):1479–1494.
- Morimoto S, Komatsu K, Taura F, Shoyama Y. Purification and characterization of cannabichromenic acid synthase from Cannabis sativa. Phytochemistry. 1998;49(6):1525–1529.
- Sepulveda DE, Vrana KE, Kellogg JJ, Bisanz JE, Desai D, Graziane NM, Raup-Konsavage WM. The potential of cannabichromene (CBC) as a therapeutic agent. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2024;391(2):206–213.
- de Meijer EPM, Hammond KM, Micheler M. The inheritance of chemical phenotype in Cannabis sativa L. (III): variation in cannabichromene proportion. Euphytica. 2009;165(2):293–311.
- Raup-Konsavage WM, Sepulveda DE, Wang J, Dokholyan NV, Vrana KE, Graziane NM. Antinociceptive effects of cannabichromene (CBC) in mice: insights from von Frey, tail-flick, formalin, and acetone tests. Biomedicines. 2024;12(1):83.
- Izzo AA, Capasso R, Aviello G, Borrelli F, Romano B, Piscitelli F, Gallo L, Capasso F, Orlando P, Di Marzo V. Inhibitory effect of cannabichromene, a major non-psychotropic cannabinoid extracted from Cannabis sativa, on inflammation-induced hypermotility in mice. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2012;166(4):1444–1460.
- Romano B, Borrelli F, Fasolino I, Capasso R, Piscitelli F, Cascio M, Pertwee R, Coppola D, Vassallo L, Orlando P, Di Marzo V, Izzo A. The cannabinoid TRPA1 agonist cannabichromene inhibits nitric oxide production in macrophages and ameliorates murine colitis. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2013;169:213–229.
- Khodadadi H, Salles ÉL, Shin E, Jarrahi A, Costigliola V, Kumar P, Yu JC, Morgan JC, Hess DC, Vaibhav K, Dhandapani KM, Baban B. A potential role for cannabichromene in modulating TRP channels during acute respiratory distress syndrome. Journal of Cannabis Research. 2021;3:45.
- Shinjyo N, Di Marzo V. The effect of cannabichromene on adult neural stem/progenitor cells. Neurochemistry International. 2013;63:432–437.
- Valeri A, Chiricosta L, D’Angiolini S, Pollastro F, Salamone S, Mazzon E. Cannabichromene induces neuronal differentiation in NSC-34 cells: insights from transcriptomic analysis. Life. 2023;13(3):742.
- Appendino G, Gibbons S, Giana A, Pagani A, Grassi G, Stavri M, Smith E, Rahman MM. Antibacterial cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa: a structure-activity study. Journal of Natural Products. 2008;71(8):1427–1430.
- Oláh A, Markovics A, Szabó-Papp J, Szabó PT, Stott C, Zouboulis CC, Bíró T. Differential effectiveness of selected non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids on human sebocyte functions implicates their introduction in dry/seborrhoeic skin and acne treatment. Experimental Dermatology. 2016;25(9):701–707.
- Anis O, Vinayaka AC, Shalev N, Namdar D, Nadarajan S, Anil SM, Cohen O, Belausov E, Ramon J, Mayzlish Gati E, Koltai H. Cannabis-derived compounds cannabichromene and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol interact and exhibit cytotoxic activity against urothelial cell carcinoma correlated with inhibition of cell migration and cytoskeleton organization. Molecules. 2021;26(2):465.
- Peters EN, MacNair L, Mosesova I, Christians U, Sempio C, Klawitter J, Land MH, Ware MA, Turcotte C, Bonn-Miller MO. Pharmacokinetics of cannabichromene in a medical cannabis product also containing cannabidiol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol: a pilot study. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2022;78:259–265.
- Elbouzidi A, Baraich A, et al. Cannabichromene (CBC): a comprehensive review of biosynthesis, pharmacology, therapeutic potential, and translational perspectives. Journal of Cannabis Research. 2026.
- Kroner GM, Johnson-Davis KL, Doyle K, McMillin GA. Cannabinol (CBN) cross-reacts with two urine immunoassays designed to detect tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) metabolite. Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine. 2020;5(3):569–574.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on March 29, 2017, by Cara Wietstock. In October 2026 the editors rewrote it from the ground up, labeling each finding by the model it came from and adding the pharmacokinetic study that provides the clearest human data on CBC so far. This article is for information only and is not medical advice.
Reviewed by Chana Frenkel, PhD.
Last updated October 2026 · Originally published March 29, 2017.
