Responsabile Scientifico

• POLLASTRO Federica (DSF)

Partecipanti al progetto

• POLLASTRO Federica (DSF)

Titolo del progetto

• NOrCa - Not Ordinary Cannabis - Exploring the chemical space around hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) waste and by-products from a circular economy perspective

Ente finanziatore

• MUR - Ministero dell'Università e Ricerca

Programma di finanziamento

• PRIN - Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (dal 2020)

Bando di riferimento

• PRIN 2022 PNRR

Anno di presentazione del progetto

• 2022

Anno di approvazione del progetto

• 2023

Project ID / numero contratto

• P2022TXJX8_002

Durata del progetto

• 24 mesi

Inizio del progetto

• 30/11/2023

Fine del progetto

• 29/11/2025

Ente capofila

• UNIFE - Università degli studi Ferrara

Altri partner del progetto

• UNIPV - Università degli studi di Pavia
• UNIMORE - Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Progetto approvato - Contributo unità di ricerca del Dipartimento

• €50.250,00

Sustainable Development Goals - Agenda 2030

Keyword

• Circular Economy
• Cannabis sativa L.
• By-products
• Waste material
• Hemp
• Bioactive compounds

Stato del progetto

• Approvato

Abstract

• In recent years, the hemp (non-psychotropic Cannabis sativa L.) market exhibited incredible growth and it is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 16.8% from 2022 to 2030 (https://www.hempbenchmarks.com/hemp-market-insider/hemp-waste/). At the same time, the hemp waste processing industry is in its infancy, providing limited answers to an urgent question: what can be done with the millions of tons of post-extraction material generated by companies? Currently, hemp waste is often used as biomass instead of recycled. The value of this residual material could go well beyond the current use, transforming itself into a source of new products. Leaves, industrial residues from inflorescence extraction processes, waxes, and lipids leave behind more than 400 molecules in an unexplored chemical space that finally assumed the form of waste (Atakan et al., 2012). Considering this biomass as a novel source of bioactive compounds is the aim of the project in the current genomic era, in which tens of thousands of potential drug targets have been identified. It is well known that the challenge of success in drug discovery lies in the number of small molecules that can be used. This project addresses such a challenging goal by looking forward to discovering the incredibly underrated value of hemp waste and by-products from a circular economy perspective. To this purpose, we propose a holistic approach that includes a comprehensive study of hemp waste and by-products by looking for uncommon cannabinoids that are considered minor not for importance but for concentration (Hanuš et al.; 2016), and additional unique molecules, including non-cannabinoids phenolic compounds and terpenic components (Pollastro et al., 2018; Isidore et al., 2021). This project will follow novel approaches to: I) set environmentally friendly extraction protocols, according to the green chemistry, easily scalable, and cost-effective for an industrial level, following the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle; 2) develop analytical methods to identify metabolites in hemp waste that could be valuable resources using advanced analytical methods based on untargeted and targeted metabolomics; 3) evaluate the biological activities of molecules by using a full panel of in vitro assays; 4) promote scientific as well as public dissemination with free conferences, workshops, in addition to scientific and informative journals and social networks. The results of the project will find a concrete application in different ways: deep investigation of the chemical space around hemp waste in a circular economy perspective with the consequent: 1) production of molecular probes to better investigate the physiopathology of the endocannabinoid system, 2) disclosure of new hit/lead compounds with a good in vitro activity against the models applied, and which future synthesis could be proposed, 3) development of new analytical standards to certify the composition of hemp-derived products.