Cannabis 'Pharma Factory' Discovered

U of S researchers have discovered the chemical pathway that Cannabis sativa uses to create bioactive compounds called cannabinoids, paving the way for the development of marijuana varieties to produce pharmaceuticals or cannabinoid-free industrial hemp.

"What cannabis has done is take a rare fatty acid with a simple, six-carbon chain and use it as a building block to make something chemically complex and pharmacologically active,"...

"Now that we know the pathway, we could develop ways to produce cannabinoids with yeast or other microorganisms, which could be a valuable alternative to chemical synthesis for producing cannabinoids for the pharmaceutical industry,"...

Cannabinoids are produced on the flowers of the female plant of Cannabis sativa in tiny hair-like structures called trichomes, the plant’s own "chemical factories." (Credit: Jon Page (UofS/NRC), Klaus Adler (IPK-Gatersleben, Germany))