THCTrends

Make Yeast Spit Out CBD and THC Instead of Growing Weed

Elisa GobeilLeave a comment

Without yeast, we would be miserable as a species. For thousands of years, baker’s yeast has provided us with leavened bread. I can’t even picture a world without beer or wine, which rely on yeast to convert sugar into alcohol.

Now, scientists are using yeast to do something even more unlikely: producing the cannabis chemicals CBD and THC. They’ve converted brewer’s yeast into cannabinoid factories by inserting genes from the cannabis plant into the microorganisms. It’s part of a bigger effort to dissect and reproduce marijuana’s various chemicals in order to better comprehend the plant’s full potential.

This is how the procedure works. Depending on which enzyme they contain, two distinct yeasts create THC or CBD. Both possess the cannabis genes that make CBGA, which is significant. “CBGA is this type of central cannabinoid that’s the mother of all the other cannabinoids,” explains Jay Keasling, a chemical engineer at UC Berkeley and coauthor of a new study outlining the process in Nature.

To manufacture THC, that yeast makes CBGA, which is subsequently converted to THCA by a yeast enzyme. The CBD yeast uses its own enzyme to convert the CBGA mother cannabinoid to CBDA. (I know, it’s alphabet soup, but bear with me.) Now you have THCA and CBDA, which when heated, transform into THC and CBD.

The final section is quite similar to what is going on with the cannabis plant. It’s doubtful that you’d get high if you ate raw cannabis because it’s primarily THCA. The conversion of THCA to THC occurs only when heat is applied. (However, as cannabis flower cures, minor levels of THCA change to THC.) Edibles work because producers utilise a process called decarboxylation to convert THCA to THC.

Working with the original plant is dirty and complex, which is why academics and cannabis corporations are interested in other methods of manufacturing cannabinoids. To begin with, growing the substance requires a significant amount of time, water, and energy (if done indoors). It’s also difficult to extract some cannabinoids from flower. If you’re solely looking for CBD, for example, your extract may be tainted with THC. This is especially important if you want to extract CBD for use as a medicine—been it’s proved to be quite successful in treating epilepsy, for example.

What’s up, Know-It-Alls! If it’s your first time, how much weed should you try?


Having a vat of yeast producing pure, non-psychoactive CBD promises to make production much easier. “Being able to make it without contaminating it with THC is a really valuable thing,” Keasling says. Especially since the FDA may want to speak with you if you mistakenly give a psychoactive chemical to a patient.

It’s also possible that cannabinoid-producing yeast will make it easier to research cannabis in the first place. We’re dealing with a plant that’s incredibly complex, with over 100 distinct cannabinoids identified so far. Some of these substances are more common than others; for example, modern cannabis strains are high in THC, as producers have bred strains to …

THC

You’re doing it wrong if you buy weed only based on the THC content.

Elisa GobeilLeave a comment

Consider the following scenario. You’re putting together a nice dinner for yourself and your partner. You walk into a liquor store in search of the ideal alcoholic beverage to complement your meal’s flavours. Do you approach the merchant and request the bottle with the greatest alcohol percentage? Most certainly not, considering Everclear’s flavour isn’t that appealing.

However, since the legalisation of marijuana in several states, many shops in the United States indicate that medicinal patients and recreational users alike tend to do just that when choosing strains. “Which one has the highest THC content?” budtenders are frequently asked, implying that anything with a lesser value isn’t worth their money. However, nothing could be further from the truth. After all, why do you drink a beer sometimes, a glass of wine another time, and a smooth whiskey on the rocks another night?

Choosing cannabis strains simply on the basis of THC level is akin to drinking the worst swill at the bar merely because it has a high alcohol content. By doing so, the user not only misses out on the strain’s rich fragrances and flavours, but also on the positive effects that can be imparted through a strain’s unique terpene profile.

Terpenes are essential oils that control all of these variables and distinguish each strain. We get what’s known as a “entourage effect” when the cannabinoid content — substances like THC or CBD — is combined with the cannabinoid content, which ultimately determines what type of advantages you can get from a certain strain. In fact, it’s nearly to the point where a person can pinpoint exactly what they want a strain to do for them, and by studying the effects of different terpenes and a little trial-and-error, they may identify the ideal strain for their requirements.


Examine your terpenes to see if Fire OG is suited for you.

Many of these discoveries have been developed “in the field” by clandestine cannabis users due to the minimal scientific research done on marijuana in the United States.”It’s almost as if the rest of the scientific community is living in the present, but when it comes to marijuana, we’re at the vanguard of the scientific revolution,” says Adam Laikin, Tryke’s Director of Marketing.

Darin Carpenter, Tryke’s Director of Cultivation, is passionate about terpene science. We met with him to learn more about the remarkable discoveries that are taking place in this space.

Darin Carpenter, Tryke Companies’ Director of Cultivation

Darin Carpenter: I believe that back in the underground days, people were looking at terpenes — whether they knew it or not — because terpenes are what give cannabis its fragrance. Some people love fragrances that are particularly strong and pungent. Others enjoy scents that are sweet. Other growers were adamant about not smelling anything. But it was all based on the terpene concentration and composition.

Terpenes became more of a focus of attention recently, I believe, when states began requiring analytical labs to evaluate the varied potencies of various chemicals. People began …

THC

You’re doing it wrong if you buy weed only based on the THC content.

Elisa GobeilLeave a comment

Consider the following scenario. You’re putting together a nice dinner for yourself and your partner. You walk into a liquor store in search of the ideal alcoholic beverage to complement your meal’s flavours. Do you approach the merchant and request the bottle with the greatest alcohol percentage? Most certainly not, considering Everclear’s flavour isn’t that appealing.

However, since the legalisation of marijuana in several states, many shops in the United States indicate that medicinal patients and recreational users alike tend to do just that when choosing strains. “Which one has the highest THC content?” budtenders are frequently asked, implying that anything with a lesser value isn’t worth their money. However, nothing could be further from the truth. After all, why do you drink a beer sometimes, a glass of wine another time, and a smooth whiskey on the rocks another night?

Choosing cannabis strains simply on the basis of THC level is akin to drinking the worst swill at the bar merely because it has a high alcohol content. By doing so, the user not only misses out on the strain’s rich fragrances and flavours, but also on the positive effects that can be imparted through a strain’s unique terpene profile.

Terpenes are essential oils that control all of these variables and distinguish each strain. We get what’s known as a “entourage effect” when the cannabinoid content — substances like THC or CBD — is combined with the cannabinoid content, which ultimately determines what type of advantages you can get from a certain strain. In fact, it’s nearly to the point where a person can pinpoint exactly what they want a strain to do for them, and by studying the effects of different terpenes and a little trial-and-error, they may identify the ideal strain for their requirements.

Examine your terpenes to see if Fire OG is suited for you.

Many of these discoveries have been developed “in the field” by clandestine cannabis users due to the minimal scientific research done on marijuana in the United States.

“It’s almost as if the rest of the scientific community is living in the present, but when it comes to marijuana, we’re at the vanguard of the scientific revolution,” says Adam Laikin, Tryke’s Director of Marketing.

Darin Carpenter, Tryke’s Director of Cultivation, is passionate about terpene science. We met with him to learn more about the remarkable discoveries that are taking place in this space.

Darin Carpenter, Tryke Companies’ Director of Cultivation

Darin Carpenter: I believe that back in the underground days, people were looking at terpenes — whether they knew it or not — because terpenes are what give cannabis its fragrance. Some people love fragrances that are particularly strong and pungent. Others enjoy scents that are sweet. Other growers were adamant about not smelling anything. But it was all based on the terpene concentration and composition.

Terpenes became more of a focus of attention recently, I believe, when states began requiring analytical labs to evaluate the varied potencies of various chemicals. People …