Recent research into the potential uses of hemp shows that cannabinoids produced by the plant could one day be the source of new natural pesticides, according to researchers at Cornell University in New York. The study by scientists at the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell AgriTech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) found that a higher concentration of cannabinoids in the leaves of hemp plants showed less damage from chewing insects compared with leaves less rich in cannabinoids. 

The researchers hope that further study could build on these findings to eventually produce new natural insecticides, most likely for use on non-edible plants only. The potential for using the new pesticides on food crops seems unlikely at this point because of the pharmacological effects of cannabinoids including CBDA, THCA and GBGA, which can be converted to CBD, THC and CBG, respectively, with the addition of heat in a process known as decarboxylation. 

Larry Smart, a plant breeder and professor at CALS, says that researchers have studied the intoxicating and medicinal effects of cannabinoids, which are produced almost exclusively by cannabis plants, since the compounds were first identified decades ago. But little research has been conducted to determine exactly why cannabis plants first developed the more than 100 distinct substances.

“It has been speculated that they are defensive compounds, because they primarily accumulate in female flowers to protect seeds, which is a fairly common concept in plants,” said Smart, the senior author of the study, according to a report from Hemp Today.

“But no one has put together a comprehensive set of experimental results to show a direct relationship between the accumulation of these cannabinoids and their harmful effects on insects,” Smart continued. 

Cornell’s Hemp Breeding Program Launched in 2017

The research was conducted as part of Cornell’s hemp breeding program, which was launched by the Ivy League university in upstate New York in 2017. The program began its work by evaluating different commercially available hemp cultivars so recommendations could be made to farmers about which varieties are best suited to the local soil and climate. 

The researchers noticed that varieties of hemp sourced from a breeding program in Ukraine that did not produce cannabinoids were all highly susceptible to damage from Japanese beetles. Other hemp varietals that produce cannabinoids were not similarly prone to damage from the insects.

“In the absence of cannabinoids, we saw heavy insect damage, and in the presence of cannabinoids, we saw much less damage,” said Smart.

The researchers then isolated CBDA and CBGA for use in controlled insect feeding studies. THCA was not studied as part of the research because strict federal limits on THC in hemp crops prevent Cornell researchers from working with the compound.

The cannabinoid extracts were added to an artificial insect diet in varying concentrations. The researchers determined that insect larvae grew less and had lower rates of survival as the concentration of cannabinoids was increased.

“The study gives us insight into how cannabinoids function in natural systems, and can help us develop new THC-compliant hemp cultivars that maintain these natural built-in defenses against herbivores,” said George Stack, a postdoctoral researcher in Smart’s lab and one of the authors of the new study.

The researchers plan further investigation to determine if sap-sucking insects such as aphids are also adversely affected by cannabinoids. However, Stack noted that the research is hindered by the continued illegality of marijuana at the federal level.

“The potential use of cannabinoids as a pesticide is an exciting area for future research, but there will certainly be regulatory barriers due to pharmacological activity of the compounds, and more studies are needed to understand what pests cannabinoids will be effective against,” Stack said.

The study, “Cannabinoids Function in Defense Against Chewing Herbivores in Cannabis Sativa L.,” was published in October by the peer-reviewed journal Horticulture Research.

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Raphael Mechoulam, the first person to synthesize THC, earning him the moniker the “Father of Cannabis Science,” has died, Analytical Cannabis reports. He was 92 years old, and his legacy will most certainly live on for centuries to come. The esteemed chemist is also called the father of cannabis research. Some of his additional game-changing contributions to drug science include isolating and synthesizing other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabichromene (CBC). 

While THC, CBD, and CBG are basically household names today, that would not be the case if it weren’t for Dr. Mechoulam, so smoke one out for him in remembrance. A medicinal chemistry professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, his work laid the groundwork and got the ball (or blunt) rolling to prompt future breakthroughs, such as illumination into the human body’s internal cannabinoid receptors in the 1980s and ’90s, as detailed in the 1993 academic paper titled Molecular characterization of a peripheral receptor for cannabinoids. 

Make sure to pay your respects today, as Dr. Mechoulam’s friends and fellow scientists are, as you pass the peace pipe around with your buddies. “This is a very sad day for me, for the science community and for the cannabis community. Professor Raphael Mechoulam or as we called him Raphi, was one of the greatest scientist[s] I ever met and was my teacher and mentor in many aspects. I truly believe he [deserved] a Nobel prize!” wrote David “Dedi” Meiri, an associate professor at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, and one Mechoulam’s colleagues, in a touching online statement. “Thank you Raphi for all the great things you did and discover[ed] in your life and thanks for all the help and support you gave me. Rest in peace my dear friend,” he continues. 

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1930, Mechoulam and his family relocated to Israel, where he began studying chemistry. His inspiration to start his successful hunt for THC began after wise observance of other drugs’ mechanisms. In an interview with CNN in 2014, Mechoulam pointed out that: “Morphine had been isolated from opium in the nineteenth century, early nineteenth century, cocaine had been isolated from coca leaves [in the] mid-nineteenth century. And here we were, mid-twentieth century, and yet the chemistry of cannabis was not known. So it looked like [an] interesting project.” According to the National Library of Medicine, in 1964, he succeeded. And the story behind how Mechoulam obtained the cannabis he studied may surprise you. 

While working as a chemist in the early 1960s at the Weizmann Institute, Mechoulam got some weed from the Israeli police with his goal already in place: to discover and isolate what makes pot psychoactive. Once THC and other cannabinoids, such as the aforementioned CBD and CBG, were identified, in 1992, Mechoulam and his team discovered the chemical arachidonoyl ethanolamine, which you know as anandamide (derived from the Sanskrit word ananda, which means bliss). Anandamide is something our body’s endocannabinoid system produces on its own (as if we are built to use cannabis) and activates the CB1 receptor. 

Deeply passionate and hardworking, Mechoulam continued his research right up to his death. At the age of 88, at the cannabis conference CannMed in California in 2019, he announced another breakthrough, synthetically stable cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), the main phytocannabinoid in fiber and seed-oil hemp, which contains anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsant, and anti-cancerogenic properties, and that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg. “We have taken the unstable acid molecules of the cannabis plant and synthesized them to provide a stable, consistent basis for researching new therapies across a wide range of medical needs,” Mechoulam explained at the conference. He also used his stage time to encourage the scientific community to invest more into cannabis research, as enough time has already been lost, citing the many people from the past who would have vastly benefited from medicinal cannabis should it have been available. “Did we have to wait 30 years? No,” he said. “We could have helped thousands of children, and we didn’t.” 

Rest in Power, Dr. Mechoulam, and may everyone lucky enough to have access to the results of his work enjoy the power of plant medicine today. 

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Researchers at Kansas State University have found that livestock feed containing industrial hemp can reduce stress levels in cattle, according to a recently released study.

The 2018 Farm Bill’s legalization of hemp has led to a flurry of research across the country as scientists work to discover novel ways to make use of a valuable new agricultural commodity. Previous research at Kansas State has shown that plant matter from industrial hemp has favorable crude protein and digestibility profiles, potentially making the crop suitable for inclusion in cattle feed.

Another study revealed that cattle readily absorbed cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) after being fed hemp flowers produced for CBD production. Michael Kleinhenz, assistant professor of beef production at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says that the previous research has implications for the viability of industrial hemp as a livestock feed.

“If hemp is to be utilized as an ingredient in the ration of cattle, it is prudent to know and understand the pharmacokinetics and potential biological effects of cattle exposed to repeated doses of cannabinoids present in industrial hemp,” Kleinhenz said in a statement from the university.

Kleinhenz and a team of researchers decided to study whether the cannabinoids present in industrial hemp would have an effect on the stress and activity levels of cattle that were given feed containing hemp.

“Cattle experience a variety of stress and inflammation,” Kleinhenz explained, noting that animals that are being transported or weaned are particularly vulnerable.

Researchers Observe Benefits of Hemp Livestock Feed

To conduct the study, the researchers fed industrial hemp to a group of 8 Holstein steers. The hemp was mixed into grain that was given to each animal individually to ensure a complete and consistent dose. A control group of 8 steers was given feed that did not contain hemp. The animals were monitored for cannabinoid levels, blood stress markers and activity levels including the number of steps taken per day and the amount of time spent lying down. The researchers then analyzed the data to compare the results between the two groups of animals.

“Our most recent data shows how cannabinoids via industrial hemp decreased the stress hormone cortisol as well as the inflammatory biomarker prostaglandin E2,” Kleinhenz said. “This shows that hemp containing cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA, may decrease stress and inflammation in cattle. Thus, hemp may be a natural way to decrease stress and inflammation related to production practices such as transportation and weaning.”

The researchers also determined that the group of cattle given feed containing industrial hemp spent more time lying, which can aid digestion by helping the animals produce saliva and chew their cud. The study revealed that while cannabinoids could be detected in the animals that had been fed industrial hemp, the level did not increase over time.

“Our new research helps us better understand how cannabinoids present in industrial hemp interact with bovine physiology and pharmacology,” Kleinhenz said. “For instance, we now know that repeated daily doses of CBDA via feeding hemp does not result in accumulation of cannabinoids in the blood. Additionally, it solidified previous research and shows that each cannabinoid has its own absorption and elimination profile.”

Kleinhenz said that the initial data collected by the team is essential if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Association of American Feed Control Officials are going to approve industrial hemp as a feed for livestock. He also noted that more study will be needed to learn if the same effect on stress levels is observed in animals undergoing stressful situations.

“Further work is needed to determine if cannabinoids can alter the stress response in cattle during stressful times such as transportation and weaning, but we hope this research is a step forward in the right direction.”

Funding for the research was provided by a grant from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The full study, “Short term feeding of industrial hemp with a high cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) content increases lying behavior and reduces biomarkers of stress and inflammation in Holstein steers,” was published online this month by the journal Scientific Reports.

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