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‘Apple of Sodom’ might replace Hemp as a new source for CBD

Written by Ofer Shoshani

Scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have developed a new source for CBD, made from Calotropis procera AKA ‘Apple of Sodom’. The Israeli team of scientists, led by a Dr. Jushua Shenkar, found that this common desert plant, wide-spread in North Africa, Tropical Africa, Western Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Indochina, is a great source for Cannabidiol.

According to Dr. Shenkar, a former student of Prof. Raphael Mechoulam ‘the father of medical canabis’, best known for his work, together with Y. Gaoni, in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of Cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD oil made from Calotropis procera will have greater effectiveness, due to their extraction and purification techniques, causing “better bioactivity.”

“The widespread belief that cannabinoids can only come from cannabis has proved to be wrong. The actual reality is that cannabis is only one of several plants that produce cannabinoids”.

It turns out that cannabinoids can be found in various plants in the Cannabaceae family. The fact that both Calotropis procera and hops, another known source for CBD, are not illegal anywhere, may be able to bring CBD products to more people in markets like the USA, where cannabis is still prohibited by federal law.

Some critics have expressed concern that sourcing phytocannabinoids like CBD from plants other than cannabis would result in a loss of the whole-plant aspect of the medicine (the entourage effect that comes as a result of the combination of all the plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes working in concert).

But Dr. Shenkar says Calotropis procera is an ideal source for CBD due to the plant also producing a number of the terpenes responsible for that whole-plant entourage effect.

What do you think? Could ‘Apple of Sodom’ replace Hemp as a reliable source for CBD?

Update: Unfortunately, extracting CBD from Calotropis procera is still not possible, due to the simple fact, that this article was written on the first day of April…

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About the author

Ofer Shoshani

Ofer Shoshani is the Founder and Editor-in-chief of Cannadelics.