Universities teaming up to explore useful bio-products found in cannabis
Partnership with licenced industry grower expands research potential
Contributed by UBCO
Researchers at UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University are working with an industry partner to see what products they can make with cannabis.
Dubbed the Cannabis Bio-products Toolbox, the collaborative research project will explore the vast range of bioproducts that can be made from the plant, including pharmaceuticals, nutritional products and industrial fibre.
“Cannabis is a source of many potentially valuable products,” said UBC Okanagan biology professor Michael Deyholos.
“But because of its prohibition over the past decades, development of new products from cannabis has lagged behind other crops.”
Deyholos, whose research explores the potential of flax and hemp, says on the medicinal side of cannabis, there are dozens of compounds in the plant that may have specific health benefits. The researchers want to breed strains that are enriched in various combinations of these compounds, tailored to needs of specific patients.
“Besides these pharmaceutical compounds, there are healthful oils and proteins in the seed that we would like to enrich,” he adds. “All of this requires a better understanding of the genes and chemicals already present in different strains of cannabis, and that is what this project is designed to do.”
Deyholos says while cannabis is best known as a source of THC, the principal psychoactive ingredient, the plant produces at least 90 other cannabinoids, many of which have potent biological activities. Some of these compounds are being examined for the treatment of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other serious health conditions.
“Our team has experience in the characterization of a range of relevant biosynthetic pathways in cannabis stems, flax seeds and terpenoid-producing tissues of lavender,” he said.
Deyholos is joined by UBC Okanagan biology professor Soheil Mahmoud, who studies the potential of lavender, UBC chemistry professor Paul Shipley, whose lab examines the chemistry of medicinal plants, and Thompson Rivers University chemistry professor Bruno Cinel, a natural products chemist who specializes in the use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for structural determination and chemical analysis.
Together with a team of post-doctorate fellows and graduate students, they will work at the laboratories of industrial-based companies Valens AgriTech and Supra THC Services, both of which are licensed by Health Canada to conduct research and analysis on cannabis plants and byproducts.
Deyholos notes that neither university has a licence to grow or store cannabis on campus, but the industrial partner has facilities and licences to grow more than 4,000 plants for research purposes.
“The facilities available at Valens Agritech and the analytical capabilities of Supra THC Services are truly state-of-the-art,” he says. “Having access to properly licensed facilities within an industrial setting will enable our talented interns to gain critical skills in a rapidly growing industry.”
Work at the industrial site will be supervised by Rob O’Brien and Yasantha Athukorala.
“It is an honour to be associated with such a collection of accomplished scientists,” says Valens AgriTech President and Chief Science Officer O’Brien.
“The research derived from this funding will provide insights into the complexity of gene expression in cannabis and will help produce new varieties that can have a greater health impact.”
The Cannabis Bio-products Toolbox was awarded a three-year $330,000 research grant by Mitacs, a national non-profit research and training organization funded by governments, universities and industry.