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Cannabis sativa L. - Botany and Biotechnology pp 183–206Cite as

Cannabinoids: Biosynthesis and Biotechnological Applications

Abstract

Cannabinoids are unique terpenophenolic metabolites found only in Cannabis sativa. The biosynthetic mechanism of these compounds had long been ambiguous since conventional biogenetic studies using radiolabelled precursors did not provide definitive results. On the other hand, various enzymological, molecular biological, and omics-based studies conducted over the past two decades have identified the majority of the enzymes and genes involved in the cannabinoid pathway, opening the way to the biotechnological production of pharmacologically active cannabinoids. This chapter describes the history of the biosynthetic studies, in particular those focused on the biosynthetic enzymes, and recent topics linked to cannabinoid-related biotechnology.

Keywords

  • Hairy Root
  • Hairy Root Culture
  • Glandular Trichome
  • Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide
  • Secretory Cavity

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the collaborators who contributed to our studies on cannabinoid biosynthesis. Research in the corresponding author’s laboratory was partially supported by grants from the Chulalongkorn Academic Advancement into Its 2nd Century Project (to SS) and Thailand Research Fund RG578008 (to SS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phyathai Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Supaart Sirikantaramas

  2. Omic Sciences and Bioinformatics Center, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phyathai Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Supaart Sirikantaramas

  3. Laboratory of Medicinal Bio-Resources, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences for Research, University of Toyama, Sugitani, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan

    Futoshi Taura

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  1. Supaart Sirikantaramas
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Correspondence to Supaart Sirikantaramas or Futoshi Taura .

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  1. University of Mississippi , Oxford, Mississippi, USA

    Suman Chandra

  2. School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Oxford, Mississippi, USA

    Hemant Lata

  3. School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, Oxford, Mississippi, USA

    Mahmoud A. ElSohly

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Sirikantaramas, S., Taura, F. (2017). Cannabinoids: Biosynthesis and Biotechnological Applications. In: Chandra, S., Lata, H., ElSohly, M. (eds) Cannabis sativa L. - Botany and Biotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54564-6_8

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