Origin, Early History, Cultivation, and Characteristics of the Traditional Varieties of Moroccan Cannabis sativa L.

Background: Cannabis has been cultivated and used for centuries in the north Moroccan Rif (local name is kif). However, its history is poorly known and the date of its first introduction and dispersal in Morocco is still difficult to be precise. Aim: The purpose of the present work is to review the literature on the origin, history, and cultivation of Cannabis in Morocco, as well as data on the morphological, genetic, and phytochemical characteristics of local cultivated varieties. Discussion: Considering the importance of preserving the fragile environment of the Rif and the future development of the Moroccan medical Cannabis market, which will require authentication of the raw material, the use of local strains which are well adapted to the particular environment of the Rif is highly recommended. However, there is no document that summarizes and clarifies the nomenclature and the characteristics of local Moroccan Cannabis. In addition, the recent adoption by Rif growers of improved hybrid cultivars is obliterating the traits and peculiarities of Moroccan Cannabis through genetic introgression. Conclusion: Summarizing and discussing the data from the literature on the characteristics of local Moroccan Cannabis varieties may be useful for their identification and the localization of the areas of the Rif region where their cultivation is still practiced.

Synthesis and characterization of arginine-doped heliotrope leaves with high clean-up capacity for crystal violet dye from aqueous media.

A novel arginine-modified Heliotrope leaf (Arg@HL) was used as adsorbent for the crystal violet (CV) dye adsorption in a batch process. The physicochemical and morphological composition of Arg@HL were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The experiments were carried out to investigate the factors that influence the dye uptake by the adsorbent, such as the contact time under agitation, adsorbent amount, initial dye concentration, temperature and pH of dye solution. The optimum conditions of adsorption were found on the batch scale as followed: CV concentration of 20 mg·L-1, an amount of 0.75 g·L-1 of the adsorbent, 90 min contact time, 6 pH and 25 °C temperature for Arg@HL. The results confirmed a second-order model explaining the dye crystal violet's adsorption's kinetics by Arg-Heliotrope leaves. The Langmuir model effectively defines the adsorption isotherms. The results revealed that the Arg@HL has the potential to be used as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of CV dye from aqueous solutions.