It Is Our Turn to Get Cannabis High: Put Cannabinoids in Food and Health Baskets

Abstract

Cannabis is an annual plant with a long history of use as food, feed, fiber, oil, medicine, and narcotics. Despite realizing its true value, it has not yet found its true place. Cannabis has had a long history with many ups and downs, and now it is our turn to promote it. Cannabis contains approximately 600 identified and many yet unidentified potentially useful compounds. Cannabinoids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and alkaloids are some of the secondary metabolites present in cannabis. However, among a plethora of unique chemical compounds found in this plant, the most important ones are phytocannabinoids (PCs). Over hundreds of 21-22-carbon compounds exclusively produce in cannabis glandular hairs through either polyketide and or deoxyxylulose phosphate/methylerythritol phosphate (DOXP/MEP) pathways. Trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are those that first come to mind while talking about cannabis. Nevertheless, despite the low concentration, cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabinodiol (CBND), and cannabinidiol (CBDL) may have potentially some medical effects. PCs and endocannabinoids (ECs) mediate their effects mainly through CB1 and CB2 receptors. Despite all concerns regarding cannabis, nobody can ignore the use of cannabinoids as promising tonic, analgesic, antipyretic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-epileptic, anticancer agents, which are effective for pain relief, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, nausea and vomiting, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disorders, and appetite stimulation. The scientific community and public society have now increasingly accepted cannabis specifically hemp as much more than a recreational drug. There are growing demands for cannabinoids, mainly CBD, with many diverse therapeutic and nutritional properties in veterinary or human medicine. The main objective of this review article is to historically summarize findings concerning cannabinoids, mainly THC and CBD, towards putting these valuable compounds into food, feed and health baskets and current and future trends in the consumption of products derived from cannabis.

Advances and Perspectives in Tissue Culture and Genetic Engineering of Cannabis

“…During the last decade, the industrial properties of cannabis ( Figure 1 ) for applications in textiles, paper, building materials, cosmetics, and foods [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], as well as pharmacological properties ( Table 1 ) such as the palliation of chronic pains associated with cancer, neutralizing the adverse impacts of chemotherapy with cytostatic drugs, eating disorders related to anorexia and AIDS, inflammatory diseases, epilepsy, and anti-spastic activity in Tourette’s syndrome or sclerosis multiplex cases have been broadly studied and supported [ 5 , 8 ].…”

Pickering emulsions stabilized with chitosan/collagen peptides nanoparticles as green topical delivery vehicles for cannabidiol (CBD)

“…Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid naturally found in Cannabis sativa L. During the last decade, CBD has attracted a growing interest in medicine due to its various therapeutic activities [1][2][3][4]. Recently, cannabis extracts, and CBD in particular, have also gained tremendous attention in the cosmetic industry sector owing to their moisturizing, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and cytoprotective properties [5,6].…”

Biotechnological Approaches on Two High CBD and CBG Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae) Varieties: In Vitro Regeneration and Phytochemical Consistency Evaluation of Micropropagated Plants Using Quantitative 1H-NMR

“…All these centuries, Cannabis was mainly used for fiber (mats, shoes, cloth, and ropes) and oil production. As mentioned by Salami et al [ 6 ], over 25,000 different products have been derived and used for various purposes from Cannabis plant. However, the species was less used for its pharmaceutical action.…”