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Yeast is a bit like the John C. Reilly of the natural world: it's one of the toughest mushrooms on the market (it gives us carbs! And beer!), But it does not have as much of deserves it deserves. Now scientists have given the yeast another superpower: it can help you get high.
According to a recent article Nature, scientists have developed a genetically modified yeast strain that produces the cannabinoid compound. This means that it can be used to create the very popular, non-psychoactive CBD that has been cited as a possible treatment of ailments ranging from anxiety to foot pain; as well as the THC, which has the psychic properties that alter the spirit of weed.
Basically, the researchers identified a number of genes used by the marijuana plant itself to produce cannabinoids and inserted them into the yeast's DNA. The genes then create enzymes that trigger a chemical reaction that converts sugar into cannabigenic acid, from which THC, CBD and other cannabinoids can be produced. Although it may sound complicated, there is a precedent in using this process to create pharmaceuticals: Jay Keasling, co-author of the study and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at University of California at Berkeley, also used yeast for anti-malarial called artemisininwhich is now available at a relatively low cost.
At this point, you may be thinking: OK, it looks cool, but save for a handful of Great British cooking fans with NORML membership cards, who, exactly, would be interested in making yeast that makes cannabinoids? It turns out that a lot of people.
"SSome pharmaceutical companies produce cannabinoids using chemical synthesis in a test tube, "says Keasling Rolling stone. This process can be incredibly costly and time consuming, just like grow marijuana in a greenhouse and extract cannabinoids from plants. "The fermentation process will beat all these costs, "he says. Extracting the cannabinoids from the plant also has the disadvantage of being a little inefficient in terms of energy, since only part of the plant is used for the process.The yeast process produces waste, but it's a minimal waste, "says Keasling.
Keasling and his team hope their research will help key players in the cannabis industry to develop a cheaper and more efficient method of producing CBD. And given the speed with which the CBD-based products market is growing (by one estimate, it will be worth more than $ 20 billion by 2022), this could be a game-changer for the industry. cannabis in general.
"One of the problems with the way we're getting DBC right now is that you do not really know what type of dose you are getting and that you do not know the purity of it," he says. With this process, however, "there is no doubt."
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