April 20, 2018 – Los Alamos, New Mexico – As the world begins to embrace the diverse applications of cannabis, science researchers in labs are redefining cannabis and water-soluble cannabinoids – by growing them in whole plants or sterile cell suspension cultures to retain consistent, uniform trait profiles. Trait Bioscience is leading the research on this out of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
When pain stops you from sleeping or living life, and when conventional medicine no longer works, for many, the only thing that works is medical cannabis. But some oils work better than others and results vary from dose to dose. The medical cannabis sector urgently needs clean, stable and pure cannabis products.
The race is on to find a solution. In cannabis plants, cannabinoid yields are limited due to their water insolubility, toxicity to the plant, and limited storage sites in trichomes. A water deliverable solution could help ensure more effective treatment of pain in patients.
“After a lot of basic research to optimise the production of water soluble cannabinoids, we have re-designed a number of cellular pathways to achieve this goal. Showing it can be done is a key first step, but ultimately it is about ensuring accurately dosed options so patients really reap the rewards of the high-tech laboratory research.” Said Dr Richard Sayre, Research Team Director, Trait BioSciences
In the cannabis plant, cannabinoid yields are limited due to their water insolubility, toxicity to the plant, and limited storage sites in trichomes. Trait Biosciences, converts cannabinoids into water-soluble products grown in whole plants or sterile cell suspension cultures to retain consistent, uniform trait profiles.
Oil and water – Progress has been made in CBD oil, but it is not always easy to absorb and is not reliable enough to deliver a consistent or measurable medical result. This is partially due to the fact that CBD products are fat or lipid-based products. Today, truly water soluble CBDs simply do not exist. So why prioritise water soluble over fat soluble CBD products?
Products containing water soluble cannabinoids are simpler to produce. Most cannabis products are blended with an oil- or fat-based substances to facilitate absorption into the human body. But the process is difficult to perform and control, yields are often low, and the processes themselves can be dangerous to execute.
Medically sensible – Lipid-soluble chemicals are absorbed through the body’s fat, via the small intestines for distribution to the rest of the body. They pass more quickly pass though barriers in the body, like the blood-brain barrier, but are also more likely to reside in the body for extended periods.
Water-soluble CBD would allow for more rapid uptake in the intestines far faster than they would using the various oils and other delivery methods bar, perhaps, vapourisation and inhalation. For example, water-soluble CBDs can be easier to administer to very young, old or sick patients making it a more practical delivery system. It also allows more consistent and accurate dosing.
Trait Biosciences is an emerging biotechnology research company based out of Los Alamos, New Mexico harnessing the best-in-class research scientists in biotechnology and cannabis R&D to develop: RNAi crop protection to reduce pesticide and fungicide use and accumulation of fungal toxins – to produce water-soluble full-spectrum cannabinoids to substantially increase cannabinoid production and accumulation.