Journal:The cannabis terpenes

Abstract

Terpenes are the primary constituents of essential oils and are responsible for the aroma characteristics of the Cannabis plant. Together with cannabinoids, terpenes illustrate a potential synergic and/or entourage effect, with their interactions having only been speculated on for the last few decades. Hundreds of terpenes have been identified that additionally add to the overall cannabis sensory experience, contributing largely to the consumer’s experiences, as well as the market price. These terpenes also enhance many therapeutic efforts, especially as aromatherapy. To shed light on the importance of terpenes in the cannabis industry, the purpose of this review is to morphologically describe sources of cannabis terpenes and to explain the biosynthesis and diversity of terpene profiles in different cannabis chemotypes.

Introduction

Cannabis sativa L. or Cannabis is a herbaceous annual that has a long history of use around the world as fiber, food, oil, and medicine. Depending on the purpose of utilization, cannabis can be called by different names, for example, “hemp” as a fiber and textile crop, and “recreational cannabis,” also known in the United States as "marijuana." Aside from its quality as an industrial textile, the psychoactive properties have placed a stigma on Cannabis plants as an illicit drug, with many informal names including pot, dope, grass, weed, Mary Jane, bud, hash, bhang, kef, ganja, locoweed, reefer, doob, spliff, toke, and roach. It has been forbidden to grow in many countries due to its psychoactive constituents. [1] From a medical perspective, many recent studies have advised that an increase in cannabis use is associated with psychiatric symptoms, including depression and anxiety. [2,3] However, many users still exclusively endorse its recreational purpose. [4,5] As a result, there has been a strong movement toward correcting negative attitudes about Cannabis, and attempts have been made in trying to remove this plant from narcotic lists. In Thailand, for instance, as of 2020, cannabis strains such as กัญชง (hemp) and กัญชา (marijuana) are legally grown for industrial fiber or medicinal purposes based on the controlled level of active metabolites, including cannabinoids such as Δ⁹–tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). [6] While primary focus has been paid to the bioactive functions of the cannabinoids, the hydrocarbon terpenes could also potentially offer interesting entourage effects that could ideally synergize or downstream their effects. [7] Eminently, with the rise in the legal cannabis industry, interest has grown around cannabis terpenes as they contribute many of the different aromatic characteristics that influence the diverse varieties of cannabis strains. [8]

Within the scope of this review, we provide the general background history of cannabis discovery and the importance of terpenes. The taxonomy and morphology of cannabis, particularly in regards to the localization of its terpenes, are discussed. More importantly, the chemistry, biosynthesis, and diversity of terpenes in different cannabis genotypes are of major interest in this review.

Notes

This presentation is faithful to the original, with only a few minor changes to presentation. Some grammar and punctuation was cleaned up to improve readability. In some cases important information was missing from the references, and that information was added.