Planta Med 2010; 76 - P12
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1251774

Propagation of Elite Cannabis sativa for the Production of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) using Biotechnological Tools

S Chandra 1, H Lata 1, IA Khan 1, 2, MA ElSohly 1, 3
  • 1National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 2Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
  • 3Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA

Cannabis sativa is an important medicinal plant that contains Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a unique terpenophenolic compound which accumulates mainly in the glandular trichomes of the plant. Besides its psychoactivity, THC possesses analgesic, anti-inflammatory, appetite stimulant and anti-emetic properties making it a very promising therapeutic drug, especially for cancer and AIDS patients. The University of Mississippi has a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to carry out a variety of research activities dealing with Cannabis, including growing, harvesting and processing the Cannabis biomass for research purposes and making it available for researchers across the United States. This presentation describes the role of biotechnology and our attempts, to propagate Cannabis sativa for the production of Δ9-THC which includes screening of high yielding genotypes based on their chemical profile, their propagation using biotechnological tools, and a comparison of micropropagated plants with mother plants and vegetatively propagated plants for quality control purposes [1–5]. Acknowledgment: This work was supported with federal funds from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services, USA, under the contract No. N01DA-7–7746. References: [1] Lata H, Chandra S, et al. (2009) In vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology: Plant, 45(1): 12–19. [2] Lata H, Chandra S, et al. (2009) Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 15(1): 79–86. [3] Lata H, Chandra S, et al. (2010) Planta Medica, Accepted for Publication. [4] Chandra S, Lata H, et al. (2009) Planta Medica, Advance online publication; DOI: 10.1055/s-0029–1240628. [5] Lata H, Chandra S, et al (2009) Planta Medica, Advance online publication; DOI: 10.1055/s-0029–1185945.