Cannabis sativa contains a wide range of biologically active compounds with medicinal potential, including cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids and other plant chemicals. This review examined extraction methods and nanoemulsion technologies that could improve the stability, delivery, bioavailability and preservation of these compounds while expanding the potential use of whole-plant cannabis extracts.

The authors highlight antioxidant, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity associated with Cannabis sativa extracts and argue that nanoformulations could help move this research toward broader pharmaceutical development. They specifically call for greater industry participation to advance new delivery methods, scale up cannabis nanoemulsion production and support the progression from animal research toward eventual human applications.

“Cannabis sativa plants have been widely investigated for their specific compounds with medicinal properties. These bioactive compounds exert preventive and curative effects on non-communicable and infectious diseases.

However, C. sativa extracts have barely been investigated, although they constitute an affordable option to treat human diseases.

Nonetheless, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and immunogenicity effects have been associated with C. sativa extracts.

Furthermore, innovative extraction methods in combination with nanoformulations have been proposed to increase desirable compounds’ availability, distribution, and conservation, which can be aided by modern computational tools in a transdisciplinary approach.

This review aims to describe available extraction and nanoformulation methods for C. sativa, as well as its known antioxidant, antimicrobial, and immunogenic activities. Critical points on the use of C. sativa extracts in nanoformulations are identified and some prospects are envisaged.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39727490

“Given all this, the pharmaceutical industry’s active participation is needed to advance and exploit other forms of distribution in animals and, finally, application in humans.”

“The industry could participate in innovation in harnessing Cannabis and scaling up the production of nanoemulsions.” 

https://www.mdpi.com/2673-6284/13/4/53