Cannabis Chemovar Nomenclature Misrepresents Chemical and Genetic Diversity; Survey of Variations in Chemical Profiles and Genetic Markers in Nevada Medical Cannabis Samples

Cannabis Roots: Therapeutic, Biotechnological and Environmental Aspects

Since the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada in 2018, the number of licenses for this crop has increased significantly, resulting in an increase in waste generated. Nevertheless, cannabis roots were once used for their therapeutic properties, indicating that they could be valued today rather than dismissed. This review will focus on both traditional therapeutic aspects and potential use of roots in modern medicine while detailing the main studies on active phytomolecules found in cannabis roots. The environmental impact of cannabis cultivation and current knowledge of the root-associated microbiome are also presented as well as their potential applications in biotechnology and phytoremediation. Thus, several high added-value applications of cannabis roots resulting from scientific advances in recent years can be considered to remove them from discarded residues.

Challenges and potentials of new breeding techniques in Cannabis sativa

Cannabis sativa L. is an ancient crop used for fiber and seed production and not least for its content of cannabinoids used for medicine and as an intoxicant drug. Due to the psychedelic effect of one of the compounds, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), many countries had regulations or bands on Cannabis growing, also as fiber or seed crop. Recently, as many of these regulations are getting less tight, the interest for the many uses of this crop is increasing. Cannabis is dioecious and highly heterogenic, making traditional breeding costly and time consuming. Further, it might be difficult to introduce new traits without changing the cannabinoid profile. Genome editing using new breeding techniques might solve these problems. The successful use of genome editing requires sequence information on suitable target genes, a genome editing tool to be introduced into plant tissue and the ability to regenerate plants from transformed cells. This review summarizes the current status of Cannabis breeding, uncovers potentials and challenges of Cannabis in an era of new breeding techniques and finally suggests future focus areas that may help to improve our overall understanding of Cannabis and realize the potentials of the plant.

Mental Health Conditions- and Substance Use-Associated Emergency Department Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nevada, USA

Background-Mental health conditions and substance use are linked. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health conditions and substance use increased, while emergency department (ED) visits decreased in the U.S. There is limited information regarding how the pandemic has affected ED visits for patients with mental health conditions and substance use. Objectives-This study examined the changes in ED visits associated with more common and serious mental health conditions (suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and schizophrenia) and more commonly used substances (opioids, cannabis, alcohol, and cigarettes) in Nevada during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 compared with the pre-pandemic period. Methods-The Nevada State ED database from 2018 to 2021 was used (n = 4,185,416 ED visits). The 10th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases identified suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, schizophrenia, and the use of opioids, cannabis, alcohol, and cigarette smoking. Seven multivariable logistic regression models were developed for each of the conditions after adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and payer source. The reference year was set as 2018. Results-During both of the pandemic years (2020 and 2021), particularly in 2020, the odds of ED visits associated with suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, schizophrenia, cigarette smoking, and alcohol use were all significantly higher than those in 2018. Conclusions-Our findings indicate the impact of the pandemic on mental health- and substance use-associated ED visits and provide empirical evidence for policymakers to direct and develop decisive public health initiatives aimed at addressing mental health and substance use-associated health service utilization, especially during the early stages of large-scale public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Systematic combinations of major cannabinoid and terpene contents in Cannabis flower and patient outcomes: a proof-of-concept assessment of the Vigil Index of Cannabis Chemovars

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the frequency with which different combinations of phytochemicals (chemovars) arise in Cannabis flower or whether common chemovars are associated with distinct pharmacodynamics and patient health outcomes. This study created a clinically relevant, user-friendly, scalable chemovar indexing system summarizing primary cannabinoid and terpene contents and tested whether the most frequently consumed chemovars differ in their treatment effectiveness and experienced side effects.

METHODS

Between 09/10/2016 and 03/11/2021, 204 people used the freely available, educational mobile software application, Releaf App, to record 6309 real-time consumption sessions using 633 distinct Cannabis flower products, unique at the user level, with terpene and cannabinoid potency information. The indexing system is based on retrospective data analysis of the products' primary and secondary terpene contents and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) potencies and yielded a total of 478 distinct chemovars. Analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) were used to compare symptom levels and side effects experienced across the five most common chemovars before and after cannabis consumption for app users overall and for those treating chronic pain and depression or anxiety.

RESULTS

Examination of the five most frequently consumed chemovars showed significant differences in symptom treatment effectiveness for chronic pain and for depression and anxiety (ps < .001). While the effects varied in magnitude, the five chemovars were effective across conditions except for MC61 (mercene .01-0.49%/beta-caryophyllene .01 to 0.49%/THC 20-25%/CBD 0.01-1.0%), which exacerbated feelings of anxiety or depression. The chemovars also differed in their association with experiencing positive, negative, and context-specific side effects, with two chemovars, MC61 and MC62 (mercene .01-0.49%/beta-caryophyllene .01-0.49%/THC 20-25%/CBD 1-5%), generating two to three fewer positive side effects and as much as one more negative and two more context-specific side effects than the other three chemovars.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings provide "proof-of-concept" that a simple, yet comprehensive chemovar indexing system can be used to identify systematic differences in clinically relevant patient health outcomes and other common experiences across Cannabis flower products, irrespective of the product's commercial or strain name. This study was limited by self-selection into cannabis and app use and a lack of user-specific information. Further research using this chemovar indexing system should assess how distinct combinations of phytochemicals interact with user-level characteristics to produce general and individualized Cannabis consumption experiences and health outcomes, ideally using randomized methods to assess differences in effects across chemovars.

Phytochemical Constituents and Derivatives of Cannabis sativa; Bridging the Gap in Melanoma Treatment

Melanoma is deadly, physically impairing, and has ongoing treatment deficiencies. Current treatment regimens include surgery, targeted kinase inhibitors, immunotherapy, and combined approaches. Each of these treatments face pitfalls, with diminutive five-year survival in patients with advanced metastatic invasion of lymph and secondary organ tissues. Polyphenolic compounds, including cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids; both natural and synthetic, have emerging evidence of nutraceutical, cosmetic and pharmacological potential, including specific anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and palliative utility. Cannabis sativa is a wellspring of medicinal compounds whose direct and adjunctive application may offer considerable relief for melanoma suffers worldwide. This review aims to address the diverse applications of C. sativa's biocompounds in the scope of melanoma and suggest it as a strong candidate for ongoing pharmacological evaluation.

Utilisation of QSPR ODT modelling and odour vector modelling to predict Cannabis sativa odour

Cannabis flower odour is an important aspect of product quality as it impacts the sensory experience when administered, which can affect therapeutic outcomes in paediatric patient populations who may reject unpalatable products. However, the cannabis industry has a reputation for having products with inconsistent odour descriptions and misattributed strain names due to the costly and laborious nature of sensory testing. Herein, we evaluate the potential of using odour vector modelling for predicting the odour intensity of cannabis products. Odour vector modelling is proposed as a process for transforming routinely produced volatile profiles into odour intensity (OI) profiles which are hypothesised to be more informative to the overall product odour (sensory descriptor; SD). However, the calculation of OI requires compound odour detection thresholds (ODT), which are not available for many of the compounds present in natural volatile profiles. Accordingly, to apply the odour vector modelling process to cannabis, a QSPR statistical model was first produced to predict ODT from physicochemical properties. The model presented herein was produced by polynomial regression with 10-fold cross-validation from 1,274 median ODT values to produce a model with R2 = 0.6892 and a 10-fold R2 = 0.6484. This model was then applied to terpenes which lacked experimentally determined ODT values to facilitate vector modelling of cannabis OI profiles. Logistic regression and k-means unsupervised cluster analysis was applied to both the raw terpene data and the transformed OI profiles to predict the SD of 265 cannabis samples and the accuracy of the predictions across the two datasets was compared. Out of the 13 SD categories modelled, OI profiles performed equally well or better than the volatile profiles for 11 of the SD, and across all SD the OI data was on average 21.9% more accurate (p = 0.031). The work herein is the first example of the application of odour vector modelling to complex volatile profiles of natural products and demonstrates the utility of OI profiles for the prediction of cannabis odour. These findings advance both the understanding of the odour modelling process which has previously only been applied to simple mixtures, and the cannabis industry which can utilise this process for more accurate prediction of cannabis odour and thereby reduce unpleasant patient experiences.

Secondary Terpenes in Cannabis sativa L.: Synthesis and Synergy

Cannabis is a complex biosynthetic plant, with a long history of medicinal use. While cannabinoids have received the majority of the attention for their psychoactive and pharmacological activities, cannabis produces a diverse array of phytochemicals, such as terpenes. These compounds are known to play a role in the aroma and flavor of cannabis but are potent biologically active molecules that exert effects on infectious as well as chronic diseases. Furthermore, terpenes have the potential to play important roles, such as synergistic and/or entourage compounds that modulate the activity of the cannabinoids. This review highlights the diversity and bioactivities of terpenes in cannabis, especially minor or secondary terpenes that are less concentrated in cannabis on a by-mass basis. We also explore the question of the entourage effect in cannabis, which studies to date have supported or refuted the concept of synergy in cannabis, and where synergy experimentation is headed, to better understand the interplay between phytochemicals within Cannabis sativa L.

Impacts of Different Light Spectra on CBD, CBDA and Terpene Concentrations in Relation to the Flower Positions of Different Cannabis Sativa L. Strains

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants, but plant breeding and cultivation are restricted by country-specific regulations. The plant has gained interest due to its medically important secondary metabolites, cannabinoids and terpenes. Besides biotic and abiotic stress factors, secondary metabolism can be manipulated by changing light quality and intensity. In this study, three morphologically different cannabis strains were grown in a greenhouse experiment under three different light spectra with three real light repetitions. The chosen light sources were as follows: a CHD Agro 400 ceramic metal-halide lamp with a sun-like broad spectrum and an R:FR ratio of 2.8, and two LED lamps, a Solray (SOL) and an AP67, with R:FR ratios of 13.49 and 4, respectively. The results of the study indicated that the considered light spectra significantly influenced CBDA and terpene concentrations in the plants. In addition to the different light spectra, the distributions of secondary metabolites were influenced by flower positions. The distributions varied between strains and indicated interactions between morphology and the chosen light spectra. Thus, the results demonstrate that secondary metabolism can be artificially manipulated by the choice of light spectrum, illuminant and intensity. Furthermore, the data imply that, besides the cannabis strain selected, flower position can have an impact on the medicinal potencies and concentrations of secondary metabolites.

Identification of minimum essential therapeutic mixtures from cannabis plant extracts by screening in cell and animal models of Parkinson’s disease

Medicinal cannabis has shown promise for the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but patient exposure to whole plant mixtures may be undesirable due to concerns around safety, consistency, regulatory issues, and psychoactivity. Identification of a subset of components responsible for the potential therapeutic effects within cannabis represents a direct path forward for the generation of anti-PD drugs. Using an in silico database, literature reviews, and cell based assays, GB Sciences previously identified and patented a subset of five cannabinoids and five terpenes that could potentially recapitulate the anti-PD attributes of cannabis. While this work represents a critical step towards harnessing the anti-PD capabilities of cannabis, polypharmaceutical drugs of this complexity may not be feasible as therapeutics. In this paper, we utilize a reductionist approach to identify minimal essential mixtures (MEMs) of these components that are amenable to pharmacological formulation. In the first phase, cell-based models revealed that the cannabinoids had the most significant positive effects on neuroprotection and dopamine secretion. We then evaluated the ability of combinations of these cannabinoids to ameliorate a 6-hydroxydopmamine (OHDA)-induced change in locomotion in larval zebrafish, which has become a well-established PD disease model. Equimolar mixtures that each contained three cannabinoids were able to significantly reverse the OHDA mediated changes in locomotion and other advanced metrics of behavior. Additional screening of sixty-three variations of the original cannabinoid mixtures identified five highly efficacious mixtures that outperformed the original equimolar cannabinoid MEMs and represent the most attractive candidates for therapeutic development. This work highlights the strength of the reductionist approach for the development of ratio-controlled, cannabis mixture-based therapeutics for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Multi-Omics Approaches to Study Molecular Mechanisms in Cannabis sativa

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.), also known as hemp, is one of the oldest cultivated crops, grown for both its use in textile and cordage production, and its unique chemical properties. However, due to the legislation regulating cannabis cultivation, it is not a well characterized crop, especially regarding molecular and genetic pathways. Only recently have regulations begun to ease enough to allow more widespread cannabis research, which, coupled with the availability of cannabis genome sequences, is fuelling the interest of the scientific community. In this review, we provide a summary of cannabis molecular resources focusing on the most recent and relevant genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches and investigations. Multi-omics methods are discussed, with this combined approach being a powerful tool to identify correlations between biological processes and metabolic pathways across diverse omics layers, and to better elucidate the relationships between cannabis sub-species. The correlations between genotypes and phenotypes, as well as novel metabolites with therapeutic potential are also explored in the context of cannabis breeding programs. However, further studies are needed to fully elucidate the complex metabolomic matrix of this crop. For this reason, some key points for future research activities are discussed, relying on multi-omics approaches.

Multivariate classification of cannabis chemovars based on their terpene and cannabinoid profiles

Cannabis is used to treat various medical conditions, and lines are commonly classified according to their total concentrations of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Based on their ratio of total THC to total CBD, cannabis cultivars are commonly classified into high-THC, high-CBD, and hybrid classes. While cultivars from the same class have similar compositions of major cannabinoids, their levels of other cannabinoids and their terpene compositions may differ substantially. Therefore, a more comprehensive and accurate classification of medicinal cannabis cultivars, based on a large number of cannabinoids and terpenes is needed. For this purpose, three different chemometric-based classification models were constructed using three sets of chemical profiles. We examined those models to determine which provides the most accurate "chemovar" classification. This was done by analyzing profiles of cannabinoids, terpenes, and the combination of these substances using the partial least square-discriminant analysis multivariate (PLS-DA) technique. The chemical profiles were selected from the three major classes of medicinal cannabis that are most commonly prescribed to patients in Israel: high-THC, high-cannabigerol (CBG), and hybrid. We studied the correlations between cannabinoids and terpenes to identify major bio-indicators representing the plant's terpene and cannabinoid content. All three PLS-DA models provided highly accurate classifications, utilizing six to nine latent variables with an overall accuracy ranging from 2 to 11% CV. The PLS-DA model applied to the combined cannabinoid-and-terpene profile did the best job of differentiating between the chemovars in terms of misclassification error, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. The combined cannabinoid-and-terpene PLS-DA profile had cross-validation and prediction misclassification errors of 4% and 0%, respectively. This is the first study to demonstrate the highly accurate classification of samples of medicinal cannabis based on their cannabinoid and terpene profiles, as compared to cannabinoid profiles alone. Furthermore, our correlation analysis indicated that 11 cannabinoids and terpenes might serve as bio-indicators for 32 different active compounds. These findings suggest that the use of multivariate statistics could assist in breeding studies and serve as a tool for minimizing the mislabeling of cannabis inflorescences.

Cannabis-related allergies: An international overview and consensus recommendations

Cannabis is the most widely used recreational drug in the world. Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica have been selectively bred to develop their psychoactive properties. The increasing use in many countries has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cannabis can provoke both type 1 and type 4 allergic reactions. Officially recognized allergens include a pathogenesis-related class 10 allergen, profilin, and a nonspecific lipid transfer protein. Other allergens may also be relevant, and recognition of allergens may vary between countries and continents. Cannabis also has the potential to provoke allergic cross-reactions to plant foods. Since cannabis is an illegal substance in many countries, research has been hampered, leading to challenges in diagnosis since no commercial extracts are available for testing. Even in countries such as Canada, where cannabis is legalized, diagnosis may rely solely on the purchase of cannabis for prick-to-prick skin tests. Management consists of avoidance, with legal issues hindering the development of other treatments such as immunotherapy. Education of healthcare professionals is similarly lacking. This review aimed to summarize the current status of cannabis allergy and proposes recommendations for the future management of this global issue.

Terpene Profiles Composition and Micromorphological Analysis on Two Wild Populations of Helichrysum spp. from the Tuscan Archipelago (Central Italy)

Two wild populations of Helichrysum (Mill.) located at Elba Island (Tuscan Archipelago, Central Italy) were morphologically and phytochemically analyzed to taxonomically identify H. litoreum (population A) and H. italicum subsp. italicum (population B). Micromorphological and histochemical analyses were performed on the indumentum using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Light Microscope (LM). Morphometric analyses on vegetative and reproductive traits were also conducted. Finally, a chemotaxonomic analysis was carried out on the terpene profile of flowers, leaves and bark tissues using gas chromatography (GC-MS). Results suggested that morphological discriminant traits were mainly in leaves and cypselae glandular tissues. Phytochemical analysis indicated that a high relative content of α-pinene and β-caryophyllene were the main markers for population A, while a high relative content of neryl-acetate, α-curcumene, isoitalicene and italicene, especially in the terpene profile of bark tissue, were the main compounds for discriminating population B. The analysis suggested that the wild population A could be mainly ascribed to H. litoreum, whilst population B is defined by H. italicum.

Phytocannabinomics: Untargeted metabolomics as a tool for cannabis chemovar differentiation

Cannabis sativa is traditionally classified according to five chemotypes based on the concentration of the main phytocannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabigerol (CBG). However, cannabis chemovars and varieties very often present similar concentrations of such phytocannabinoids but different chemical profiles, which is unavoidably translated into different pharmacological effects when used for therapeutic purposes. For this reason, a more refined approach is needed for chemovar distinction, which is described in this study and named phytocannabinomics. The classification was achieved by a comprehensive characterization of the phytocannabinoid composition, by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry untargeted metabolomics for the detection of over a hundred phytocannabinoids, and data analysis by chemometrics for chemovars differentiation. The method was developed on fifty cannabis varieties, grown under the same conditions, and was validated to discriminate between the standard chemotypes by partial least squares discriminant analysis. Then, the method was extended to consider the entire chemical variety of the cannabis accessions, by an unsupervised approach based on the principal component analysis. The latter approach clearly indicated several new subgroups within the traditional classifications, which arise from a unique composition of the minor phytocannabinoids. The existence of these subgroups, which were never described before, is of critical importance for evaluating the pharmacological effects of cannabis chemovars.

Characterization of chemotype-dependent terpenoids profile in cannabis by headspace gas-chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A headspace method called full evaporation technique (FET) coupled to capillary gas chromatography with a mass detector operating in time-of-flight mode (HS-GC/MS-TOF) was developed to characterize the volatile components, especially the terpene fraction, in Cannabis sativa L. inflorescences. This analytical approach allows to reach a high equilibration temperature, that was able to obtain a complete quantification of the volatile components, providing simple sample preparation, specific qualitative detection, high sensitivity, a precise and accurate quantitative determination. The method was applied to 20 cannabis THC-dominant (I) and 13 CBD-dominant (III) chemotypes. The obtained results were then compared with a series of standard solutions consisting of 35 terpenoids and the mass spectra present in a computer library (NIST). The method has an accuracy of more than 90 % and a limit of detection of 5 ppm for all analytes. The main terpenoids in cannabis are namely (% Chemotypes III vs. I of the total terpene content): β-Caryophyllene (25 vs. 19.3), β-Mircene (18.2 vs. 20.0), Terpinolene (12.1 vs. 7.0), α-Humulene (6.5 vs. 8.5), D-Limonene (6.2 vs. 7.2), α-Pinene (5.8 vs. 4.9), β-Pinene (5.0 vs. 5.8) and cis-β-Ocimene (4.3 vs. 5.2), whose presence is confirmed in both plant chemotypes and account for more than 80 % of the total terpenoids amount. The terpenoids which can clearly distinguish the chemotype are α-Terpineol, Linalool, DL-Menthol, α-Cedrene, and Borneol. This application provides important data on the secondary volatile components of the plant, which may be useful for a better understanding of the therapeutic properties of the cannabis phyto-complex. It gives the possibility of establishing the aroma profile of different Cannabis batches, allowing possible similarities between samples and identifying any artificial adulteration such as hexyl butyrate ester and it provides the opportunity to highlight some target compounds characteristic of the different chemotypes.

Widely assumed phenotypic associations in Cannabis sativa lack a shared genetic basis

The flowering plant Cannabis sativa, cultivated for centuries for multiple purposes, displays extensive variation in phenotypic traits in addition to its wide array of secondary metabolite production. Notably, Cannabis produces two well-known secondary-metabolite cannabinoids: cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), which are the main products sought by consumers in the medical and recreational market. Cannabis has several suggested subspecies which have been shown to differ in chemistry, branching patterns, leaf morphology and other traits. In this study we obtained measurements related to phytochemistry, reproductive traits, growth architecture, and leaf morphology from 297 hybrid individuals from a cross between two diverse lineages. We explored correlations among these characteristics to inform our understanding of which traits may be causally associated. Many of the traits widely assumed to be strongly correlated did not show any relationship in this hybrid population. The current taxonomy and legal regulation within Cannabis is based on phenotypic and chemical characteristics. However, we find these traits are not associated when lineages are inter-crossed, which is a common breeding practice and forms the basis of most modern marijuana and hemp germplasms. Our results suggest naming conventions based on leaf morphology do not correspond to the chemical properties in plants with hybrid ancestry. Therefore, a new system for identifying variation within Cannabis is warranted that will provide reliable identifiers of the properties important for recreational and, especially, medical use.

Terpene Synthases and Terpene Variation in Cannabis sativa

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) resin is the foundation of a multibillion dollar medicinal and recreational plant bioproducts industry. Major components of the cannabis resin are the cannabinoids and terpenes. Variations of cannabis terpene profiles contribute much to the different flavor and fragrance phenotypes that affect consumer preferences. A major problem in the cannabis industry is the lack of proper metabolic characterization of many of the existing cultivars, combined with sometimes incorrect cultivar labeling. We characterized foliar terpene profiles of plants grown from 32 seed sources and found large variation both within and between sets of plants labeled as the same cultivar. We selected five plants representing different cultivars with contrasting terpene profiles for clonal propagation, floral metabolite profiling, and trichome-specific transcriptome sequencing. Sequence analysis of these five cultivars and the reference genome of cv Purple Kush revealed a total of 33 different cannabis terpene synthase (CsTPS) genes, as well as variations of the CsTPS gene family and differential expression of terpenoid and cannabinoid pathway genes between cultivars. Our annotation of the cv Purple Kush reference genome identified 19 complete CsTPS gene models, and tandem arrays of isoprenoid and cannabinoid biosynthetic genes. An updated phylogeny of the CsTPS gene family showed three cannabis-specific clades, including a clade of sesquiterpene synthases within the TPS-b subfamily that typically contains mostly monoterpene synthases. The CsTPSs described and functionally characterized here include 13 that had not been previously characterized and that collectively explain a diverse range of cannabis terpenes.