Exmolca

In recent years, there has been a great deal of expectation in society about the possible therapeutic usefulness of certain compounds derived from cannabis called cannabinoids. This interest has been reinforced by the recent commercialization of several drugs such as Cesamet® (nabilone), Marinol® (dronabinol) and Sativex®, whose active ingredient consists mainly of two cannabinoid compounds; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD).

The discovery of the endogenous cannabinoid system, to which receptors and specific systems of synthesis and degradation of cannabinoid compounds belong, has made it possible to better understand how they act in the body, exponentially increasing during the last two decades the volume of biomedical research dedicated to understanding how cannabis can be useful in the treatment of various diseases.

Based on the above, this project aims to detect and quantify cannabinoid compounds of pharmaceutical relevance or with potential agro-alimentary applications present in seeds of industrial hemp. In order to achieve this objective, the extraction and quantification conditions will be optimized, mainly for Cannabidiol compounds (CBD), Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabinol (CBN) from one type of industrial hemp seed, Sativa Cannabis variety for industrial and food use with a low percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (less than 5%).