Entourage Effect
The entourage effect describes how different compounds in botanicals interact to create effects that are greater than the sum of their individual effects when used alone. It's a synergistic relationship: The whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Key features:
- Synergistic interaction between multiple compounds
- Combined effects differ from isolated compounds
- Includes major and minor compounds working together
- Terpenes contribute to the overall experience
- Varies based on botanical variety and processing
The concept emerged from research showing that whole-plant extracts often produced different effects than isolated individual compounds, even at equivalent potency levels. Minor compounds that seem insignificant on their own appear to modulate and enhance the effects of major compounds when present together.
Terpenes play a significant role in this interaction. These aromatic compounds don't just provide flavor and scent — they appear to influence how other compounds interact with your body's systems. Different terpene profiles contribute to different experiential qualities, which is why identical potency levels in different varieties can feel distinctly different.
This is why many people prefer full-spectrum extracts and concentrates over isolated compounds. Full-spectrum products preserve the complete compound profile from the source material, maintaining the relationships between different elements. The preservation of minor compounds and terpenes creates a more complex, nuanced experience.
The entourage effect in practice: When you're selecting flower, the entourage effect is why terpene profiles matter beyond just taste. Those aromatic compounds contribute to the overall experience through interaction with other elements. For concentrates, full-spectrum extracts like live resin preserve more of the original terpene profile than distillates, maintaining more of that synergistic interaction. This is also why some people prefer flower over concentrates despite lower potency — the full-spectrum profile creates a different experience than isolated or refined extracts. Understanding this helps explain why two products with similar potency can feel noticeably different in practice.