Production, digestibility and allergenicity of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) protein isolates.

Food Research International

“Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), traditionally cultivated for industrial use and harvested for fibers and seeds, has raised much interest as a sustainable crop in the last years.

Recently, hemp seeds and derived oil have started to be used in a variety of food products. Hemp-based food products are considered less allergenic than those from other edible seeds, although this statement has never been experimentally verified.

In this study high purity grade hemp flour (HF) and hemp protein isolate (HPI) were obtained through a fast and cheap process starting from defatted hemp cakes, a residue of hempseed oil extraction.

HPI resulted enriched at nearly 86% protein, mainly constituted by the storage protein edestin (accounting for 70% total protein). In vitro protein digestibility was determined using a static model of gastrointestinal digestion (GID), which included a final step with purified brush border membrane (BBM) enzyme preparations. HF and HPI showed a high degree of digestibility. The survival of potential bioactive and/or allergenic peptide sequences in digests was investigated by peptidomic analysis. Only a limited number of sequences survived GID. Among them, fragments from 12 seed proteins. These fragments were precursors of sequences with potential bioactive peptides, which might justify the bioactivity of HPI hydrolysates, reported in previous studies.

More importantly, all known hemp allergens, including the major thaumatin-like protein and LTP, were entirely eliminated by the HPI production process, neither fragments of the proteins were present after GID.

These data support the use of HPI as an ingredient for hypoallergenic foods.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30599980

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996918307427?via%3Dihub

Determination of cannabinoids in hemp nuts products in Taiwan by HPLC-MS/MS coupled with chemometric analysis: Quality evaluation and a pilot human study.

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“Hemp nuts are mature cannabis seeds obtained after hulling and stir-frying that are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating functional constipation. In this work, we screened hemp nut products, classified them, and verified the legality of consuming them.

A total of 18 products were purchased from Taiwan, China and Canada. Validated high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry methods were developed for analyzing the cannabinoid (i.e., Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol) content of the products and the concentration of urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC.

Chemometric techniques, namely hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), were applied for rapidly classifying 11 concentrated powder products in Taiwan. A pilot human study comprising single and multiple administrations of a product with 1.5 µg/g of THC was conducted to examine the urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC concentration. Through optimization of 32 full factorial design, using 60% isopropanol as the extraction solvent exhibited the highest yield ofcannabinoids and was applied as the optimal condition in further analysis.

The results of HCA and PCA on quality evaluation were in well agreement; however, the tested products possessed distinct CBD-to-THC ratios which ranged widely from 0.1:1 to 46.8:1. Particularly, the products with CBD-to-THC ratios higher than 1:1 were the majority in Taiwan.

Our data suggested that all the tested hemp nut products met the Taiwan restriction criteria of 10 µg/g of THC. We propose a usual consumption amount of hemp nut products in Taiwan would unlikely to violate the cut-off point of 15 ng/mL of urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27590030

Variability in Seed Traits in a Collection of Cannabis sativa L. Genotypes.

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“Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) is a wind-pollinated annual plant that originated in central Asia. Hemp, naturally, is a dioecious crop, but some monoecious cultivars have been obtained as a result of earlier breeding efforts.

Hemp is an ancient crop that has been cultivated worldwide until the early twentieth century, after which its cultivation declined.

Recently, interest in this multipurpose crop delivering fibers, shives, and seeds, has been renewed by an increasing demand not only for natural fibers but also for the high content and quality of seed protein and oil. Hemp seed contains 25–35% oil, 20–25% protein, 20–30% carbohydrates, 10–15% insoluble fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, and calcium.

The increasing demand for vegetable oils and proteins, along with current awareness about their nutritional and functional role in human diet, has made indispensable to characterize new plant sources. In this regard, hemp seed contains all the essential amino acids and fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life, and it might be a new good source of nutrients for both humans and livestock.

The principal value of hemp seed oil resides in its fatty acid composition. It contains the two dietary essential fatty acids: linoleic acid (LA; 18:2ω6) and the α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3ω3) in the ratio of 2.5–3:1, which has been claimed as ideal for human nutrition.

The seed of Cannabis sativa L. is an expanding source of proteins and oil for both humans and animals.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4873519/

The safety and efficacy of 3% Cannabis seeds extract cream for reduction of human cheek skin sebum and erythema content.

“Escalated sebum fabrication is seen with an unattractive look and adds to the growth of acne. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of 3%Cannabis seeds extract cream on human cheek skin sebum and erythema content.

For this purpose, base plus 3% Cannabis seeds extract and base (control) were prepared for single blinded and comparative study. Healthy males were instructed to apply the base plus 3% Cannabis seeds extract and base twice a day to their cheeks for 12 weeks.

Adverse events were observed to determine skin irritation. Measurements for sebum and erythema content were recorded at baseline, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th week in a control room with Sebumeter and Mexameter.

Base plus 3% Cannabis seeds extract was found to be safe in volunteers.

Measurements demonstrated that skin sebum and erythema content of base plus 3%Cannabis seeds extract treated side showed significant decrease (p<0.05) compared with base treated side.

Base plus 3% Cannabis seeds extract showed safety.

It was well tolerated for the reduction of skin sebum and erythema content.

Its improved efficacy could be suggested for treatment of acne vulgaris, seborrhea, papules and pustules to get attractive facial appearance.”

Most Docs OK With Medical Marijuana: Survey – US News and World Report

“Majority would give a prescription to an advanced cancer patient in pain. Three-quarters of doctors who responded to a survey about medical marijuana said they would approve the use of the drug to help ease pain in an older woman with advanced breast cancer.”

“The point of the vignette was to illustrate the kinds of patients that show up on our doorstep who need help. This issue is not one you can ignore, and some states have already taken matters into their own hands,” said Dr. J. Michael Bostwick, a professor of psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

“There are no 100 percents in medicine. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that this is something we should study more. Forgive the pun, but there’s probably some fire where there’s smoke, and we should investigate the medicinal use of marijuana or its components,” Bostwick said.

Marijuana comes from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It’s a dry, shredded mix of the plant’s leaves, flowers, stems and seeds. It can be smoked as a cigarette or in a pipe, or it can be added to certain foods, such as brownies.”

More: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/05/29/most-docs-ok-with-medical-marijuana-survey

What’s So Healing About Hemp Seeds and Flax Seeds?

“Hemp seeds have a plethora of nutrients necessary to the healing process which makes them one of the most nutritious foods on our planet. When we talk about hemp seeds we mean hulled seeds from the hemp plant. Although in the same genus of plants as Marijuana, Hemp does not possess high enough levels of the medicinal and analgesic (pain relieving) compound Tetrahydrocannabinol, also commonly known by its acronym THC, to be considered the same plant. This article is about the healing medicinal value of hulled hemp seeds with respect to their content of essential amino acids (raw protein) and highly unsaturated essential fatty acids…

The fat content and balance of essential fats in hemp seeds is superior to almost every other seed and nut. Hemp has a ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 of 3.75 to 1, which according to the World Health Organization is close to perfect for effective metabolism. Hemp also contains other very important co-factor nutrients including chlorophyll, Vitamin E, a complex of B Vitamins including Folic Acid, as well as Phosphorous, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium…”

More: http://thegoodwitch.ca/whats-so-healing-about-hemp-seeds-and-flax-seeds/