Non-cannabis plant may hold key to pain relief and cannabinoid biosynthesis.

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have identified more than 40 cannabinoids in a South African plant called the woolly umbrella, which is unrelated to the cannabis plant. The plant produces cannabinoids that could have new medical uses, including pain relief, nausea, anxiety, and epileptic seizures. The researchers have developed tools for the sustained production of these cannabinoids, which could help explore their enormous therapeutic potential. The study's findings might even lead to engineering cannabinoids that don't exist in nature, designed to achieve specific therapeutic benefits.