Archaeobotanical evidence of the use of medicinal cannabis in a secular context unearthed from south China.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: As one of the first plants used by ancient people, cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. The long history of medicinal cannabis use contrasts with the paucity of archaeobotanical records. Moreover, physical evidence of medicinal cannabis use in a secular context is much rarer than evidence of medicinal cannabis use in religious or ritual activities, which impedes our understanding of the history of medicinal cannabis use. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aims to provide archaeobotanical evidence of medicinal cannabis use and analyse the specific medicinal usage of cannabis in a secular context in ancient times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Plant remains were collected from the Laoguanshan Cemetery of the Han Dynasty in Chengdu, South China, with the archaeological flotation process and were identified based on morphological and anatomical characteristics. The examination of the medicinal significance of the remains relied on the investigation of the documentation on unearthed medical bamboo slips, the diseases of the tomb occupants, the cemetery's cultural background and Chinese historical records. RESULTS: The botanical remains were accurately identified as cannabis. More than 120 thousand fruits were found, which represents the largest amount of cannabis fruit remains that have been statistically analysed from any cemetery in the world thus far. The cannabis fruits are suspected to have been used for medical purposes in a secular context and were most likely used to stop severe bleeding of the uterus and treat lumbago and/or arthralgia. CONCLUSIONS: The cannabis fruit remains reported here likely represent the first physical evidence of medicinal cannabis use for the treatment of metrorrhagia, severe lumbago, and/or arthralgia. This study emphasizes the importance of the evidence of the diseases suffered by the occupants of the tomb in determining the medicinal use of cannabis in a secular context and contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the ancient history of medicinal cannabis.

Extraction Method and Analysis of Cannabinoids in Cannabis Olive Oil Preparations.

Recently, an increasing number of pharmacists had to supply medicinal products based on Cannabis sativa L. (Cannabaceae), prescribed by physicians to individual patients. Cannabis olive oil preparation is the first choice as a concentrated extract of cannabinoids, even though standardized operative conditions for obtaining it are still not available. In this work, the impact of temperature and extraction time on the concentration of active principles was studied to harmonize the different compounding methods, optimize the extraction process, and reduce the variability among preparations. Moreover, starting from the cannabis inflorescence, the effect of temperature on tetrahydrocannabinolic acid decarboxylation was evaluated. For the analysis, a GC/MS method, as suggested by the Italian Ministry of Health, and a GC/flame ionization detection method were developed, validated, and compared.

Viking and early Middle Ages northern Scandinavian textiles proven to be made with hemp.

Nowadays most plant textiles used for clothing and household are made of cotton and viscose. Before the 19th century however, plant textiles were mainly made from locally available raw materials, in Scandinavia these were: nettle, hemp and flax. It is generally believed that in Viking and early Middle Ages Scandinavia hemp was used only for coarse textiles (i.e. rope and sailcloth). Here we present an investigation of 10 Scandinavian plant fibre textiles from the Viking and Early Middle Ages, believed to be locally produced. Up till now they were all believed to be made of flax. We show that 4 textiles, including two pieces of the famous Överhogdal Viking wall-hanging are in fact made with hemp (in three cases hemp and flax are mixed). This indicates that hemp was important, not only for coarse but also for fine textile production in Viking and Early Middle Ages in Scandinavia.

[Characteristics of Cannabis sativa L.: seed morphology, germination and growth characteristics, and distinction from Hibiscus cannabinus L].

Illegal cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation is still a social problem worldwide. Fifty inquiries on cannabis that Research Center for Medicinal Plant Resources (Tsukuba Division) received between January 1, 2000 and March 31, 2009 were itemized in to 8 categories; 1: seed identification, 2: plant identification, 3: indoor cultivation, 4: outdoor cultivation, 5: germination and growth characteristics, 6: expected amount of cannabis products derived from illegal cannabis plant, 7: non-narcotic cannabis and 8: usage of medicinal cannabis. Top three inquiries were 1: seed identification (16 cases), 3: indoor cultivation (10 cases) and 4: outdoor cultivation (6 cases). Characteristics of cannabis, namely seed morphology, germination and growth characteristics, and distinction from kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) that is frequently misjudged as cannabis, were studied to contribute for prevention of illegal cannabis cultivation.