New Technology Developed to Facilitate Chemical Reactions that Increase Quantities of Desired Substances
JERUSALEM — Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) researchers, in partnership with Mariana Bioscience Ltd. in Israel, have successfully engineered a cannabis plant with higher levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), and other medically-important substances. The researchers successfully increased the levels of THC, the primary psychoactive component in cannabis, by nearly 17%, as well as the level of CBG (cannabigerol), often referred to as “the mother of all cannabinoids,” by nearly 25%. The researchers in the laboratory of Professor Alexander (Sasha) Vainstein at the HU Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, collaborated with and received funding from Mariana Bioscience Ltd., a global pioneer in the genetic cannabis research field. Vainstein’s team also increase the ratio of terpenes by 20-30%. Terpenes maximize the euphoric effect of cannabis. The research team was seeking to intervene in the cannabis plant’s biochemical pathways to increase or decrease act...