Anti-staphylococcal activity of soilless cultivated cannabis across the whole vegetation cycle under various nutritional treatments in relation to cannabinoid content.

Antibiotic resistance in staphylococcal strains and its impact on public health and agriculture are global problems. The development of new anti-staphylococcal agents is an effective strategy for addressing the increasing incidence of bacterial resistance. In this study, ethanolic extracts of Cannabis sativa L. made from plant parts harvested during the whole vegetation cycle under various nutritional treatments were assessed for in vitro anti-staphylococcal effects. The results showed that all the cannabis extracts tested exhibited a certain degree of growth inhibition against bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-sensitive forms. The highest antibacterial activity of the extracts was observed from the 5th to the 13th week of plant growth across all the nutritional treatments tested, with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 32 to 64 µg/mL. Using HPLC, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) was identified as the most abundant cannabinoid in the ethanolic extracts. A homolog of THCA, tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA), reduced bacterial growth by 74%. These findings suggest that the cannabis extracts tested in this study can be used for the development of new anti-staphylococcal compounds with improved efficacy.

Nootropic Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees as Potential Cognitive Enhancers.

Plant-based nootropics are a diverse group of natural drugs that can improve cognitive abilities through various physiological mechanisms, especially in cases where these functions are weakened or impaired. In many cases, the nootropics enhance erythrocyte plasticity and inhibit aggregation, which improves the blood's rheological properties and increases its flow to the brain. Many of these formulations possess antioxidant activity that protects brain tissue from neurotoxicity and improves the brain's oxygen supply. They can induce the synthesis of neuronal proteins, nucleic acids, and phospholipids for constructing and repairing neurohormonal membranes. These natural compounds can potentially be present in a great variety of herbs, shrubs, and even some trees and vines. The plant species reviewed here were selected based on the availability of verifiable experimental data and clinical trials investigating potential nootropic effects. Original research articles, relevant animal studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical trials were included in this review. Selected representatives of this heterogeneous group included Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst., Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim., Ginkgo biloba L., Lepidium meyenii Walp., Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, Paullinia cupana Kunth, Rhodiola rosea L., Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. The species are depicted and described, together with their active components and nootropic effects, and evidence of their efficacy is presented. The study provides brief descriptions of the representative species, their occurrence, history, and the chemical composition of the principle medicinal compounds, with uses, indications, experimental treatments, dosages, possible side effects, and contraindications. Most plant nootropics must be taken at optimal doses for extended periods before measurable improvement occurs, but they are generally very well tolerated. Their psychoactive properties are not produced by a single molecule but by a synergistic combination of several compounds. The available data suggest that including extracts from these plants in medicinal products to treat cognitive disorders can have substantial potential therapeutic benefits.

Nootropics as Cognitive Enhancers: Types, Dosage and Side Effects of Smart Drugs.

Nootropics, also known as "smart drugs" are a diverse group of medicinal substances whose action improves human thinking, learning, and memory, especially in cases where these functions are impaired. This review provides an up-to-date overview of the potential effectiveness and importance of nootropics. Based on their nature and their effects, this heterogeneous group of drugs has been divided into four subgroups: classical nootropic compounds, substances increasing brain metabolism, cholinergic, and plants and their extracts with nootropic effects. Each subgroup of nootropics contains several main representatives, and for each one, its uses, indications, experimental treatments, dosage, and possible side effects and contraindications are discussed. For the nootropic plant extracts, there is also a brief description of each plant representative, its occurrence, history, and chemical composition of the medicinal part. Lastly, specific recommendations regarding the use of nootropics by both ill and healthy individuals are summarized.

Amino Acid Supplementation as a Biostimulant in Medical Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) Plant Nutrition.

There is growing evidence to support the involvement of nutrients and biostimulants in plant secondary metabolism. Therefore, this study evaluated the potential of amino acid-based supplements that can influence different hydroponic nutrient cycles (systems) to enhance the cannabinoid and terpene profiles of medical cannabis plants. The results demonstrate that amino acid biostimulation significantly affected ion levels in different plant tissues (the "ionome"), increasing nitrogen and sulfur content but reducing calcium and iron content in both nutrient cycles. A significantly higher accumulation of nitrogen and sulfur was observed during the recirculation cycle, but the calcium level was lower in the whole plant. Medical cannabis plants in the drain-to-waste cycle matured 4 weeks earlier, but at the expense of a 196% lower maximum tetrahydrocannabinolic acid yield from flowers and a significantly lower concentration of monoterpene compounds than in the recirculation cycle. The amino acid treatments reduced the cannabinolic acid content in flowers by 44% compared to control in both nutritional cycles and increased the monoterpene content (limonene) up to 81% in the recirculation cycle and up to 123% in the drain-to-waste cycle; ß-myrcene content was increased up to 139% in the recirculation cycle and up to 167% in the drain-to-waste cycle. Our results suggest that amino acid biostimulant supplements may help standardize the content of secondary metabolites in medical cannabis. Further experiments are needed to identify the optimal nutrient dosage and method of administration for various cannabis chemotypes grown in different media.

Natural pentacyclic triterpenoid acids potentially useful as biocompatible nanocarriers.

The importance of natural raw materials has grown recently because of their ready availability, renewable nature, biocompatibility and controllable degradability. One such group of plant-derived substances includes the triterpenoid acids, terpenic compounds consisting of six isoprene units, a carboxyl group and other functional groups producing various isomers. Most can be easily extracted from different parts of the plant and modified successfully. By themselves or as aglycones (genins) of triterpene saponins, they have potentially useful pharmaceutical activity. This review focuses on the supramolecular properties of triterpenoid acids with regard to their subsequent use as biocompatible nanocarriers. The review also considers the current list of pentacyclic triterpene acids for which molecular self-assembly has been confirmed without the need for structural modification.