Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Inflorescences as Novel Food: The Effect of Different Agronomical Practices on Chemical Profile

Abstract

In this study, the effect of several agronomical practices on the chemical composition of hemp inflorescences, a potential novel food that needs to be further studied, was observed. Here, the case study of inflorescences from Ferimon cultivars is discussed and submitted to different agronomical practices (irrigation and fertilizers) in different years, and the inflorescences harvested in different periods were analyzed by a multimethodological approach. Targeted and untargeted methodologies allowed cannabinoids, total phenolic content, metabolite profile and antioxidant activity to be determined. The biomass and inflorescence yields were also reported. The whole data set was submitted to ANOVA-simultaneous component analysis. The statistic results allowed us to observe that irrigation was responsible for the (–)-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) increment. THC, cannabichromene (CBC), cannabigerol (CBG), succinate, and fructose resulted as higher in full female flowering than in the period of seed maturity. On the other hand, nitrogen supplementation led to an increase of iso-leucine, valine, and threonine. The obtained results underlined both the potential food application of hemp inflorescences, due to the rich chemical profile, and the strong effect of agronomical practices, mainly irrigation and harvesting, on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of its metabolite profile.

Effect of Genotype, Year, and Their Interaction on the Accumulation of Bioactive Compounds and the Antioxidant Activity in Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Inflorescences

“…The same trend was observed for all the individual cannabinoids except CBG, which in 2019 was found at levels significantly lower compared to 2020. These results are in line with those reported by Spano and co-authors [30], who found a major influence of cropping year on cannabinoid accumulation compared to harvesting stage and fertilization. Furthermore, meaningful differences in the cannabinoid content between two years of cultivation were observed in the essential oil, although these were not statistically significant according to the ANOVA analysis [33].…”

“…Therefore, understanding the effect of these factors on the accumulation of phytochemical compounds is crucial to obtaining inflorescences enriched with valuable compounds and with high commercial value. To date, several studies have been carried out on the effects of specific agronomical practices, harvesting stages, and storage conditions on the phytochemical composition of hemp inflorescences [26][27][28][29][30], whereas the effects of genotype and cropping season have been poorly investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to gain insights for the first time into the effect of genotype, year, and their interaction on the accumulation of secondary metabolites and the antioxidant activity in C. sativa inflorescences.…”

Comparison of the Nutritional Composition of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Inflorescences, Green Leaves, and Grains

“…The CP content of quinoa inflorescences was higher (25.09 g) compared to those found in other inflorescences such as Moringa oleifera (20.48 g), torch ginger (12.6 g), and banana (15.82 g/100 g, DW) [26,34,35]. However, on a fresh weight (FW) basis (about 80% moisture content), much lower CPs were reported in other inflorescences such as rape and cabbage (4.19-4.40 g) and fennel (1.37 g/100 g, FW) [29,33]. The fat content of quinoa inflorescences, 2.80 g/100 g on a dry weight basis, exceeded that of Moringa oleifera (1.83 g) and banana (0.6 g).…”

“…Previous studies have investigated the nutritional content of flowers and inflorescences from various plant species, including banana [29], coconut [30], cocoyam [31], fennel [32], industrial hemp [33], moringa [34,35], rape and cabbage [36], and torch ginger [37], and revealed a diverse array of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, bioactive components, and nutraceuticals. However, there remains limited information regarding the nutritional profile of quinoa inflorescences.…”

Effect of Drying Methods on Chemical and Sensory Properties of Cannabis sativa Leaves

“…Due to the above, it is important to preserve their desired sensory characteristics during the drying process. Many papers have been published describing the effect of drying on the composition of secondary metabolites of hemp inflorescences [13][14][15].…”