THCVA is the form in which the living plant stores THCV. Its pathway mirrors the THC pathway one step earlier: instead of olivetolic acid (C5 chain), the plant uses divarinic acid (C3 chain), which combines with geranyl pyrophosphate to form CBGVA. THCA synthase then converts CBGVA to THCVA. Heat or time decarboxylates THCVA to THCV.
In practice
On a COA, THCVA appears as its own line where the lab tests for it; many basic potency panels don't. A breeder hunting propyl-rich plants needs a lab panel that reports THCVA and THCV separately, or the trait is invisible. As with THCA, the total is calculated: total THCV ≈ THCV + 0.867 × THCVA (the ratio is slightly lower than for THCA because the molecule is smaller).being reviewed
Don't confuse with
- THCA: the C5 analogue, made from olivetolic acid.
- THCV: the neutral form, after decarboxylation.
- CBDVA: the propyl analogue of CBDA, made by CBDA synthase from CBGVA.
THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin) is the propyl-chain (C3) analogue of THC, formed by decarboxylating THCVA; it is a minor cannabinoid in most cultivars but notable in some African-derived lines.THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the neutral, decarboxylated cannabinoid mainly responsible for cannabis's reported intoxicating effects; the living plant makes it almost entirely as THCA.Olivetolic acid is the phenolic building block of cannabinoids; joined to geranyl pyrophosphate it forms CBGA, and its five-carbon chain becomes the pentyl tail of THC and CBD.Geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP) is a ten-carbon terpene precursor that cannabis uses both to build monoterpenes and, joined to olivetolic acid, to make the cannabinoid precursor CBGA.THCA synthase is the trichome enzyme that converts CBGA into THCA; which alleles of its gene a plant carries largely decides whether it is THC-dominant.THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) is the acid cannabinoid that drug-type cannabis makes in its trichomes; heat or time decarboxylates it into THC, losing about 12% of its mass.CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) is the acid cannabinoid made by CBDA synthase from CBGA; it dominates hemp-type and CBD-type cannabis and decarboxylates to CBD.CBDA synthase is the trichome enzyme that converts CBGA into CBDA; it competes with THCA synthase, and its alleles largely decide whether a plant is CBD-dominant.Decarboxylation is the loss of a carboxyl group as CO2 that turns acid cannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA into neutral THC and CBD, quickly with heat, slowly with time.Acid cannabinoids (THCA, CBDA, CBGA) are the carboxylated forms the plant makes; neutral cannabinoids (THC, CBD, CBG) form when heat or time removes the carboxyl group.
