Wild plant of Cannabis. Imagen: IBB
How long have humans been using the Cannabis plant? Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that domestication of Cannabis took place around 12,000 years ago in East Asia, firstly as a multi-purpose crop and later, around 4,000 years ago, in separate crops for the production of fibre and drugs or medicines.
Seeds 10,000 years old have been found in Japan, with signs that Cannabis may have been used for food at that time. There are also records of its psychoactive use in Israel and the Pamir Mountains over 2500 years ago. The oldest and most diverse medicinal records come from China, Egypt, Persia and India.
Cannabis is one of the most versatile plants and has played an important role in everyday life for thousands of years. But many of its traditional uses have been lost over time. Collecting and documenting these uses is the goal of CANNUSE, the world's first database on traditional uses of Cannabis.
The database, which is a result of collaboration between the Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB) - a joint centre of the CSIC and the Barcelona City Council-, the University of Barcelona and the company Cija Preservation S.L., contains more than 2,300 entries from 649 publications related to medicinal, food, textile and other uses, from countries and cultures all over the world. "In some places where Cannabis is classified as a drug, people are reluctant to talk about traditional uses," says Teresa Garnatje, CSIC researcher at IBB.
All kind of Cannabis uses from near 40 countries are documented in the records, either obtained from literature review or by contributors from countries such as Turkey, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Armenia, Mongolia, Iran, China and South Africa.
In the past, psychoactive use was often associated with various religious rituals. However, Cannabis is also known to have been used to treat headaches, and other ailments such as diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, anxiety, asthma, spasms, fever, rheumatism, insomnia, eye infections, obstetric complications... Also, as a poultice on toenails, for its antipyretic effects, and many others. It was used as an important source of food and oil, and was a valuable resource for fibre production, especially in the shipbuilding industry.The oil produced from the seeds was also used as a base for many cosmetic products.
In the past, Cannabis was used as an important source of food and oil, obtained from the seeds, and was a valuable resource for fibre production, especially in the shipbuilding industry. In the picture: seeds and fabric made of Cannabis
All kind of cannabis uses from near 40 countries are documented in the records, in some cases obtained from literature review and others provided by contributors from countries such as Turkey, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Armenia, Mongolia, Iran, China and South Africa. All these uses are indications that the plant may contain molecules and active ingredients of interest for these disorders and ailments.
One of the uses that attracts most attention is against cancer. IBB scientists are collaborating with the technological centre Leitat to test different Cannabis seeds on tumour cell lines. "We choose the most promising plants and test them to see if they have any effect on the cells," Garnatje says, "We don't test isolated molecules but the whole plant, as it contains many molecules that may act in synergy.
This open-access database has been created as part of the WECANN project, which is a comprehensive study of Cannabis. "Although there are previous studies of Cannabis,' Teresa Garnatje points out, 'they rarely include more than one or two different scientific fields. Our aim with this project is to conduct a comprehensive study and analyse all the data together.
WECANN aggregates studies from the fields of ethnobotany, genetics, morphology and phytochemistry. The project aims to study wild varieties from all over the world, collected in places as far away as Serbia and Mongolia. The scientists try to collect specimens of wild varieties, which have neither been hybridised nor cultivated for drug use.
Most research focuses on the chemical composition and medicinal properties of THC- and CBD-rich plants. But the diversity of Cannabis is hidden in landraces and wild populations especially.
"In the project we are characterising the phenotypes of wild plants. By means of geometric morphometry we analyse shape and structure of the leaves as well as the seeds of different Cannabis populations." The combination of morphometric, genetic and ethnobotanical data will enable us to trace the geographical origin of Cannabis, and how it has spread around the world. The WECANN project will also help to clarify its taxonomy, for example, "whether it is one, two or three species, something that still remains unknown".
Reference:
Balant, M., Gras, A., Gálvez, F., Garnatje, T., Vallès, J., & Vitales, D. 2021. CANNUSE, a database of traditional Cannabis uses - an opportunity for new research. Database: baab024. www.cannusedb.csic.es.