By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
In the modern world of legal cannabis, there is a seemingly endless selection of different strains to choose from, with new ones popping up all the time.
A plant’s terpene profile and physical appearance are characteristics that can distinguish it from other strains. But when it comes to cannabinoid levels, there might not be quite as much variance as previously thought.
According to research from UBC Okanagan, THC and CBD levels are virtually the same across different strain types.
“People have had informal breeding programs for a long time,” said Okanagan chemistry professor Susan Murch. “In a structured program we would keep track of the lineage, such as where the parent plants came from and their characteristics.”
Because of informal breeding, a strain’s chemical composition has not been known.
“With unstructured breeding, which is the current norm,” said Murch. “Particular plants were picked for some characteristic and then given a new name.”
Together with Murch, and British Colombia Institute of Technology’s Canadian Research Chair in Phytoanalytics, Paula Brown, doctoral student Elizabeth Mudge examined eleven known, and twenty-one unknown cannabinoids present in thirty-three strains of cannabis from five licensed producers.
The resulting data showed that, while breeding of potent strains affects the genetic diversity within the plants, it does not appear to affect their levels of THC or CBD. The study did find more variance in the previously unknown cannabinoids which were present in smaller amounts.
“A high abundance compound in a plant such as THC or CBD, isn’t necessarily responsible for the unique medicinal effects of certain strains,” said Mudge. “Understanding the presence of the low abundance cannabinoids could provide valuable information to the medical cannabis community.”
Mudge expects that further clinical examination of the previously-unknown cannabinoids will yield new medicines and better options for patients.
