Facts: CBD has been found in a plant other than hemp
A Brazilian team led by Valdir F. Veiga-Junior, a chemist at Rio’s Military Institute of Engineering, has published a surprising set of findings in Scientific Reports: the detection of cannabidiol, or CBD, in Trema micrantha, a shrub widespread throughout tropical America. The species belongs to the same botanical family as cannabis — the Cannabaceae — but it had never been associated with cannabinoid production until now.
The researchers analyzed leaves, inflorescences and fruits collected in Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro. The extracts were processed through chromatography and examined using mass spectrometry, a method that precisely identifies the molecular composition of a sample.
The results revealed clear traces of CBD and its acidic form, CBDA, in several parts of the plant. Their chemical profiles also showed signatures resembling those of other cannabinoids. In short, the metabolic reactions occurring in hemp appear to take place in this plant as well.
The Brazilian discovery is far from unanimously accepted…
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A few weeks after the publication in Scientific Reports, another team from the University of São Paulo attempted to replicate the analysis using samples of the same species collected elsewhere in Brazil.
Their results, published in Plants, showed no trace of CBD or any other cannabinoids. The authors offered a cautious explanation: certain phenolic compounds in Trema micrantha may mimic CBD’s chemical response in specific tests without actually containing it.
This disagreement does not necessarily invalidate the first study. The concentrations reported by the Rio team were measured in billionths of a gram per gram of extract. At such levels, even slight variations in method or equipment can influence the outcome. More laboratories will be needed to confirm or refute the presence of CBD in this plant.
Why look for CBD outside of cannabis?
The global CBD market surpassed $5 billion in 2023, and projections estimate $47 billion by 2028. Such rapid growth places significant pressure on supply. Cannabis remains illegal in many countries, including Brazil, and cultivation—even when permitted—comes with heavy regulatory constraints.
Identifying an alternative source of CBD could diversify and optimize supply. A plant not classified as a narcotic could be grown, processed and sold without the special authorizations that currently slow down the sector. For a pharmaceutical lab, a supplement manufacturer, or a specialized CBD retailer, the logistical and economic equation becomes far more attractive.
Cannabinoids are not exclusive to cannabis: several studies have shown that other plants produce imilar molecules, sometimes via different metabolic pathways. In 2020, Thai researchers detected CBD in a local Trema species. The Brazilian team is part of this growing body of work mapping the natural distribution of cannabinoids.
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If a plant as common as Trema micrantha reliably produces CBD, it could potentially be cultivated on a large scale in tropical regions where cannabis does not grow easily. Production costs would fall, and regions without access to the legal cannabis market could develop their own supply chains — even if consumption remains illegal in the country of production. |
Will we one day find a commercially viable CBD source outside hemp ?
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The concentrations measured in Trema micrantha are infinitesimal: just a few billionths of a gram per gram of extract.
Extracting CBD from this plant would likely cost hundreds of times more than producing it from industrial hemp, whose Sativa and Indica cultivars contain far higher CBD levels.
But Trema is just one example among many, raising a broader question: could we eventually discover a plant capable of rivaling hemp? Nothing guarantees it. Hemp has benefited from decades of genetic selection optimizing two key parameters:
- CBD concentration in the flowers;
- Extraction efficiency.
Modern cultivars produce inflorescences rich in cannabinoids, and extraction methods such as supercritical CO₂ and ethanol are well-established at industrial scale. An alternative source would need to offer comparable advantages — or compensate through other strengths such as faster growth, absence of THC (helpful for regulation), or adaptation to climates where hemp struggles.
The economic stakes are enormous… which is why multiple research avenues have been explored, with limited success so far:
- Companies have attempted to produce cannabinoids through bacterial fermentation or genetically engineered yeast. They succeeded in producing CBD in the lab, but production costs remain prohibitive compared to field-grown hemp.
- Other teams have detected cannabinoids in plants such as Helichrysum or certain Liverwort species, but concentrations remain far too low for commercial use.
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In 2023, researchers at the Weizmann Institute confirmed that the South African Helichrysum umbraculigerum produces CBG at concentrations reaching 4.3% of the dry leaf weight — an exceptionally high level. However, CBG is only a precursor to CBD in the cannabinoid biosynthesis pathway… and Helichrysum lacks the enzymes needed to convert one into the other. No study has yet demonstrated the economic viability of a full production chain based solely on CBG as raw material. |
Meanwhile… the best CBD is at 321CBD!
From a commercial standpoint, alternative CBD sources remain science fiction. We are likely closer to sending (wealthy) tourists to Mars than to producing CBD oil from Trema micrantha or South African Helichrysum. None of these avenues will lead to an industrial supply chain for decades — if they ever do.
For now, the best CBD is found at 321CBD!
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