Cannabis, from plant to pill.
The therapeutic application of cannabis is attracting substantial public and clinical interest. The cannabis plant has been described as a veritable treasure trove, producing more than 100 different cannabinoids, although the focus to date has been on the psychoactive molecule delta-9-tetraydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Other numerous secondary metabolites of cannabis, the terpenes, some of which share the common intermediary geranyl diphosphate (GPP) with the cannabinoids, are hypothesized to contribute synergistically to their therapeutic benefits, an attribute that has been described as the entourage effect. The effective delivery of such a complex multicomponent pharmaceutical relies upon the stable genetic background and standardized growth of the plant material, particularly if the raw botanical product in the form of the dried pistillate inflorescence (flos) is the source. Following supercritical CO