Chapter 13
Micropropagation ofCannabis sativa
L.—An Update
Hemant Lata, Suman Chandra, Ikhlas A. Khan
and Mahmoud A. ElSohly
Abstract Cannabisis one of the oldest economically important plant yielding
fiber, food and medicine. It is a natural source of D^9 -tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD). These two molecules have a tremendous thera-
peutic potential and commercial value in the pharmaceutical area.Cannabisis a
highly heterozygous species. Being dioceous (male and femaleflowers appear on
two different plants) and wind pollinated species, it is difficult to maintain the
chemical profile of biomass product, if grown from seed. Plant to plant variation is
observed even though plants are grown from seeds obtained from a single female
plant. Therefore, to maintain consistency in the end product, elite female plants are
screened and multiplied using vegetative propagation and/or tissue culture. Micro
propagation can play a vital role in the conservation of eliteCannabisclones and
rapid multiplication of novel germplasm. On the other hand, it can also be used in
genetic modification for the enhanced cannabinoid production. Research on in vitro
propagation ofCannabishas resulted in the development of protocols for callus
production, cell suspension cultures, agrobacterium mediated hairy root cultures
and regeneration of plants. This chapter provides an overview of in vitro propa-
gation ofCannabisand addresses the current applications of modern biotechnology
in propagation of eliteCannabisplants.
H. LataS. ChandraI.A. KhanM.A. ElSohly (&)
National Center for Natural Product Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
I.A. Khan
Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy,
The University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
M.A. ElSohly
Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, The University of
Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
©Springer International Publishing AG 2017
S. Chandra et al. (eds.), Cannabis sativaL. - Botany and Biotechnology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-54564-6_13
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