Flavoalkaloids Found in Cannabis Leaves for First Time — SkimNews
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- Stellenbosch University researchers identified 16 flavoalkaloids in Cannabis leaves, providing the first evidence that this rare compound class occurs in the plant.
- The team detected 79 phenolic compounds across three commercial South African Cannabis strains, 25 of which had never previously been reported in Cannabis.
- Most of the newly detected flavoalkaloids appeared primarily in just one of the three strains studied — a level of chemical variation the researchers said they did not expect.
- Dr. Magriet Muller and Prof. André de Villiers used comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography paired with high-resolution mass spectrometry to separate the rare flavoalkaloids from much more abundant flavonoids.
- Muller developed the analytical methods during her postgraduate studies at SU's Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science, previously applying them to rooibos tea, grapes, and wine.
- Prof. André de Villiers said the findings highlight 'the medicinal potential of Cannabis plant material, currently regarded as waste' and the need to study non-cannabinoid chemistry in a plant that produces more than 750 metabolites.
- The findings were published in the Journal of Chromatography A.
Why it matters: Cannabis leaves are routinely discarded as agricultural waste, yet the detection of 79 phenolic compounds — including a whole class of rare flavoalkaloids never before seen in the species — reframes them as a potential reservoir of new biomedical leads for pharmaceutical researchers. Because most of the rare compounds appeared in only one of three strains, breeding and cultivation choices will determine whether this latent chemistry can ever be harvested at scale.
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