Whether you prefer a full spectrum CBD oil or are more the gummies and tincture type, terpenes are always part of the equation. In fact, terpene profiles are one of the things that set CBD products apart from each other. You could say that terpenes are the foundation of just about every CBD product.

What exactly are terpenes? Why are they so valuable to us as a CBD supplier? If there were only one thing you could remember about CBD, it would be hard to go wrong knowing about terpenes.

What Terpenes Are

Terpenes are aromatic compounds found in most plant life. In our industry, we talk of them as though they were exclusive to hemp, but they aren't. Every plant, flower, tree, or shrub with a distinct odor gets that odor from its terpenes. Science suggests that terpenes are both a defense mechanism and a means of accomplishing pollination. To us humans though, terpenes are all about aroma.

Hemp plants produce more than 150 terpenes based on variety and strain. In fact, hemp growers are now going out of their way to create specific strains meant to boost their preferred terpene profiles. This is why we now see so many CBD gummies, tinctures, and vapes with different aromas and flavors.

If there is any negative here, it is the fact that terpenes are volatile compounds. This is what makes them so aromatic. But because they are volatile, they are easily lost during the CBD extraction process. Processors need to be extremely careful if they hope to maximize plant terpenes.

How Terpenes Are Produced

Different plants produce terpenes in different ways. The hemp plant has something known as a trichome – a sticky gland found on female plants. Trichomes themselves possess resin glands. These are the glands that produce terpenes. They are mostly found on hemp flowers, though smaller numbers of the glands can also be found on stems and leaves.

Terpene production is part of nature. The goal among hemp growers is to work with what nature offers to create reliable and consistent terpene profiles from one plant to the next. In so doing, they can grow different strains and varieties that offer a plethora of aromas, flavors, and potential health benefits.

Health and Therapeutic Benefits

We already know that health and wellness experts recommend CBD to improve wellbeing. Similar recommendations are made for certain types of terpenes. Incidentally, if you have ever used essential oils to improve your wellness, you have taken advantage of terpenes. The whole idea of utilizing essential oils is very similar to the concept of using CBD oil.

For informational purposes, it is believed that CBD and its many terpenes offer the following benefits:

• Antiviral properties
• Antidepressant properties
• Antimicrobial properties
• Pain-relieving properties
• Sleep-inducing properties.

There is ongoing research into whether CBD and its terpenes have any impact on cancer. We already know that cannabis has been approved as a medical treatment for cancer pain in dozens of states. We also know that the National Institutes for Health is looking to fund research that could someday demonstrate the plant has anticancer properties.

We know enough about terpenes to incorporate them into CBD oils, gummies, and other products. We know enough about them to support a thriving essential oil industry. But we are still learning about all the potential impacts they could have on human health. The more we learn about them, the more we discover that terpenes go way beyond just aroma. Hopefully, future research will reveal a ton of untapped health potential locked within these aromatic compounds.