THC and CBD Fingerprinting of an Elite Cannabis Collection from Iran: Quantifying Diversity to Underpin Future Cannabis Breeding

Abstract

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) has a rich history of human use, and the therapeutic importance of compounds produced by this species is recognized by the medical community. The active constituents of cannabis, collectively called cannabinoids, encompass hundreds of distinct molecules, the most well-characterized of which are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), which have been used for centuries as recreational drugs and medicinal agents. As a first step to establish a cannabis breeding program, we initiated this study to describe the HPLC-measured quantity of THC and CBD biochemistry profiles of 161 feral pistillate cannabis plants from 20 geographical regions of Iran. Our data showed that Iran can be considered a new region of high potential for distribution of cannabis landraces with diverse THC and CBD content, predominantly falling into three groups, as Type I = THC-predominant, Type II = approximately equal proportions of THC and CBD (both CBD and THC in a ratio close to the unity), and Type III = CBD-predominant. Correlation analysis among two target cannabinoids and environmental and geographical variables indicated that both THC and CBD contents were strongly influenced by several environmental–geographical factors, such that THC and CBD contents were positively correlated with mean, min and max annual temperature and negatively correlated with latitude, elevation, and humidity. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between THC and CBD concentrations, suggesting that further studies to unravel these genotype × environment interactions (G × E interactions) are warranted. The results of this study provide important pre-breeding information on a collection of cannabis that will underpin future breeding programs.

Population genomics of a naturalCannabis sativaL. collection from Iran identifies novel genetic loci for flowering time, morphology, sex and chemotyping

“…Air-dried pistillate inflorescences were collected prior to the seed development were analyzed for content (% dry weight (DW)) of the cannabinoid compounds Δ9-THC and CBD. Refer to our publication (Mostafaei Dehnavi et al, 2022) for information on the preparation of samples and the HPLC analysis of cannabinoids. Some characteristics, including Li, nL, DT50 and CL, were only measured in female individuals.…”

“…Depending on type and cannabinoid yield, in particular, THC: CBD ratio, this species can be defined as industrial hemp (a major source of textiles, food, and oilseed) or marijuana (medical cannabis or a recreational drug) (Piluzza et al, 2013; Ren et al, 2021; Mostafaei Dehnavi et al, 2022). There is significant potential in the development of cannabis and its derivatives, particularly CBD, in the treatment of melanoma, a type of skin cancer and epilepsy-related syndromes such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome (Bachari et al, 2020; Brunetti et al, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, understanding the flowering time of a plant is a significant characteristic for not only optimizing yield and determining harvest time, but also the fiber quality and cannabinoids produced (Toth et al, 2022). Flower structure and plant height can also affect the cultivation process and crop yield and cannabinoid production, such as THC and CBD, is a key factor in the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis (Gonçalves et al, 2019; Deguchi et al, 2022; Mostafaei Dehnavi et al, 2022). Therefore, the precise phenotyping of these traits can improve crop management, increase yield and enhance the overall quality of cannabis (Woods et al, 2021).…”

Examining population structure across multiple collections of Cannabis

“…For the LeafWorks, Inc. dataset, type associations were provided for 101 landrace samples and 44 hemp samples with remaining use-type associations assigned through searching sample names on https://www.leafly.com or https://www.wikileaf.com. For Soorni et al 2017 dataset a recent publication used chemistry of these same accessions to determine use-type (Mostafaei Dehnavi et al 2022). For the remaining datasets (Sunrise Genetics, Lynch et al, 2016, and Courtagen Life Sciences) sample names were searched on https://www.leafly.com or https://www.wikileaf.com for assignment to a category of use-type ( Tables S1-S9 ).…”

An Individuality of Response to Cannabinoids: Challenges in Safety and Efficacy of Cannabis Products

“…The categorization of cannabis as either drug-type or nondrug-type is based on THC concentration [ 25 ]. Drug-type cannabis with a psychotropic effect (marijuana) contains 1.0–20% THC; the intermediate type contains 0.3–1.0% THC; and the fiber type (hemp), which is found in textiles and food, contains 0.3% THC [ 26 ].…”