Alkylamides from Echinacea are a new class of cannabinomimetics.

The active ingredients of Echinacea are the cannabinoid alkylamides found in great quantities in the roots of the angustifolia species. Not all Echinacea is equal and when research is done, the type used is typically the purpurea as it is easier to cultivate and the parts used are the aerial parts: the leaves and the tops. These parts of the Echinacea plant contain 10-20 times fewer alkylamides than the roots. The E. angustifolia species has the highest amount of alkylamides in their roots but harder to cultivate and more expensive so the purpurea species root is often used in combination.

Alkylamides bind particularly to human CB2 and to a much lesser degree to CB1 cannabinoid receptors; as a result they are implicated in a variety of modulatory functions, including immune suppression, induction of apoptosis, cell migration and inhibition of tumor necrosis factor α TNF-alpha. These Alkylamides have similar potency to that of THC at the CB2 receptor, with THC being around 1.5 times stronger (~40 nm vs ~60 nm affinities). However, potency is dramatically less than that of THC at the psychoactive CB1 receptor (~40 nm vs ~ >1500 nm affinities).