The industrial cultivation of hemp is experiencing tremendous expansion in the United States due to new federal laws and consumer demand. These legislative changes, part of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, legally allow researchers to conduct tests on hemp and allow growers to grow plants.
In 2021 hennep, with a THC concentration of less than 0,3 percent by dry weight, grown on 54.000 acres worth more than $824 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In collaboration with York University in Ontario, Canada, and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia, researchers from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences received a $600.000 grant to study cannabinoid biosynthesis.
Less loss of CBD and benefit from other cannabinoids
A better understanding of those processes could allow better selection or adaptation of plants with a given cannabinoid content, potentially increasing profits and reducing risk for growers. This is because crops with more than the permitted THC content must be destroyed.
Discoveries could also help the pharmaceutical industry as cannabinoids become increasingly important for the treatment of pain, anxiety, epilepsy and cancer. “We have a list of nine transcription factors that we want to investigate further and see if they regulate the expression of these genes involved in cannabinoid biosynthesis,” said Bargmann, an assistant professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
“If we can find ways to manipulate biosynthesis, we can grow plants not only high in THC and CBD, but also with higher concentrations of cannabinoids like CBG (cannabigerol) and CBN (Cannabinol) and others. That way we may be able to grow crops that have a greater economic value than we currently have.”
Source: www.news-medical.net (EN)
