Skip to main content

Cannabis and cannabinoids biochemistry and genetics

Section Editor: Zachary Gerring, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia
Covers the biochemistry and genetics of whole-plant products, plant-derived constituents (phytocannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids), and synthetic cannabinoids.


  1. Increased extracellular glutamate concentrations in the brain can cause neuronal injury. Cannabinoid use has been demonstrated to reduce extracellular glutamate levels in the brain in many animal models. Howev...

    Authors: Berzenn Urbi, Vincent Sapaen, Ian Hughes, Maame Amma Owusu, Arman Sabet and Simon A. Broadley
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2025 7:21
    Content type: Review Published on:

  2. The treatment of diverse diseases using plant-derived products is actively encouraged. In the past few years, cannabidiol (CBD) has emerged as a potent cannabis-derived drug capable of managing various debilit...

    Authors: Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo, Yolandy Lemmer and Shayne Mason
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2024 6:14
    Content type: Review Published on:

  3. Understanding the genome of Cannabis sativa holds significant scientific value due to the multi-faceted therapeutic nature of the plant. Links from cannabis gene to therapeutic property are important to establish...

    Authors: Trever J. Jackson and Sunandan Chakraborty
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2023 5:16
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  4. Hemp and marijuana are the two major varieties of Cannabis sativa. While both contain Ī”9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of C. sativa, they differ in the amount of THC that they con...

    Authors: Megan I. Chambers, Samira Beyramysoltan, Benedetta Garosi and Rabi A. Musah
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2023 5:5
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  5. Cannabis sativa is a primarily dioecious angiosperm that exhibits sexual developmental plasticity. Developmental genes for staminate male flowers have yet to be elucidated; however, there are regions of male-asso...

    Authors: Anthony Torres, Christopher Pauli, Robert Givens, Jason Argyris, Keith Allen, Amparo Monfort and Reginald J. Gaudino
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:57
    Content type: Technical note Published on:

  6. Although the worldwide use of medical cannabis (MC) is on the rise, there is insufficient data regarding the long-term stability of phytocannabinoids in the plant material under different storage conditions. S...

    Authors: Joshua Aviram, Daniella Atzmony, Anna Frenklakh, Asaf Kroll, Ilana Zaks and Arno Hazekamp
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:55
    Content type: Original research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Cannabis Research 2025 7:2

  7. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a producer of cannabinoids. These organic compounds are of increasing interest due to their potential applications in the medicinal field. Advances in analytical methods of identifyin...

    Authors: Luca De Prato, Matthew Timmins, Omid Ansari, Katinka X. Ruthrof, Giles E. St. J. Hardy, John Howieson and Graham Oā€™Hara
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:51
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  8. Because cannabinoids are usually amorphous solids, the thought that some of them may also exist in distinctly different crystal polymorphic forms might at first seem unusual. However, this commentary provides ...

    Authors: Crist N. Filer
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:23
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  9. Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is the most commonly used illicit drug in the USA, and the use of DNA barcodes could assist drug trafficking investigations by indicating the biogeographical origin and crop type of a ...

    Authors: Madeline G. Roman, Ryan Gutierrez and Rachel Houston
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:13
    Content type: Brief research report Published on:

  11. Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychotropic compound from Cannabis sativa, shows positive results on controlling several health disturbances; however, comparable data regarding additional chemical from C. sativa, suc...

    Authors: Eric Murillo-Rodrƭguez, Diana MillƔn-Aldaco, Gloria Arankowsky-Sandoval, Tetsuya Yamamoto, Roger G. Pertwee, Linda Parker and Raphael Mechoulam
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:31
    Content type: Brief research report Published on:

  12. Sindbis virus (Alphaviridae) is a plus-strand RNA virus that is dependent on the host cell for replication. Cannabinoid (CB) receptors are found on most human cells, including virally infected cells. Activatio...

    Authors: Juan L. Rodriguez, Joseph A. Lopez and J. Jordan Steel
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:10
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  13. The taxonomic classification of Cannabis genus has been delineated through three main types: sativa (tall and less branched plant with long and narrow leaves), indica (short and highly branched plant with broader...

    Authors: Philippe Henry, Surender Khatodia, Karan Kapoor, Britni Gonzales, Alexis Middleton, Kevin Hong, Aaron Hilyard, Steve Johnson, Davis Allen, Zachary Chester, Dan Jin, JosĆ© Carlos Rodriguez Jule, Iain Wilson, Manu Gangola, Jason Broome, Deron Caplan…
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:26
    Content type: Original research Published on:

  14. Pharmacists possess a skillset suited to provide evidence-based guidance to current and potential users of cannabis. Clinical pharmacogenomics research has made significant progress in defining which genetic v...

    Authors: John Papastergiou, Wilson Li, Carly Sterling and Bart van den Bemt
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:24
    Content type: Brief research report Published on:

  15. The discovery of phytocannabinoid synthesizing enzymes, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase (THCAs) and cannabidiolic acid synthase (CBDAs) was a breakthrough in Cannabis research. However, their evolutionary...

    Authors: Niranjan Aryal, Debbie Figueroa Orellana and Jamal Bouie
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2019 1:8
    Content type: Review Published on:

Journal of Cannabis Research

ISSN: 2522-5782