Cannabis Cultivation and Cannabinoid Analysis

Cannabis cultivation encompasses a spectrum of practices from large‐scale outdoor farming to tightly controlled indoor environments. Selection of genotype or ‘chemovar’ underpins yield, cannabinoid profile and resistance to pests or stress. Trichomes, glandular structures on flowers and leaves, are the principal sites of phytocannabinoid and terpenoid biosynthesis. Advances in analytical chemistry permit simultaneous quantification of neutral and acidic cannabinoids, terpenoids and flavonoids, while decarboxylation kinetics guide optimisation of processing for medicinal formulations. Efforts to standardise cultivation protocols and analytical workflows support reproducible production of target compounds, facilitating regulatory compliance and quality assurance. Emerging metabolomic and transcriptomic tools further elucidate biosynthetic pathways, enabling marker‐assisted breeding for enhanced cannabinoid titres. These developments bear global significance for pharmaceutical development, agricultural sustainability and industrial bioproducts.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A comprehensive profiling of secondary metabolites across distinct plant parts has established reference values for cannabinoids, terpenoids, sterols and flavonoids in flowers, leaves, stems and roots. Quantitative data reveal that inflorescences concentrate major cannabinoids and monoterpenoids, whereas sterols and triterpenoids predominate in stem bark and roots. This multi‐compound atlas underpins investigations of the so-called entourage effect by correlating compound mixtures with bioactivity, and informs targeted extraction strategies for each plant fraction. The resulting dataset serves as a benchmark for clinical studies and quality control of both whole‐plant preparations and isolated constituents.

Cannabis Cultivation and Cannabinoid Analysis publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in cannabis cultivation and cannabinoid analysis across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cannabinoid: A class of bioactive terpenophenolic compounds produced in Cannabis trichomes, including Δ⁹-THC and CBD.

Trichome: Glandular hair-like structure on cannabis flowers and leaves that synthesises and stores cannabinoids and terpenoids.

Decarboxylation: Thermal conversion of acidic cannabinoid precursors into their neutral, pharmacologically active forms.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA): A systematic evaluation of environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from cultivation through disposal.

References

1. Greener green: The environmental impacts of the Canadian cannabis industry. Resources Conservation and Recycling (2024).
2. Synergy between industry and agriculture: Techno-economic and life cycle assessments of waste recovery for crop growth in glasshouses. Journal of Cleaner Production (2023).
3. Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules. Frontiers in Plant Science (2016).
4. The draft genome and transcriptome of Cannabis sativa. Genome Biology (2011).
5. Decarboxylation Study of Acidic Cannabinoids: A Novel Approach Using Ultra-High-Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography/Photodiode Array-Mass Spectrometry. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (2016).
6. Secondary Metabolites Profiled in Cannabis Inflorescences, Leaves, Stem Barks, and Roots for Medicinal Purposes. Scientific Reports (2020).
7. New Methods for the Comprehensive Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Cannabis sativa L. (hemp). Molecules (2018).