USDA Study Finds Hemp Roots May Help in Pediatric Cancer Treatment
In a groundbreaking study, scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have discovered an often underutilized part of the hemp plant—its roots—may hold significant therapeutic potential, including in the treatment of pediatric cancer.
The study, published in the Journal of Cannabis Research last year, discovered that there’s a component of hemp roots with four distinct compounds known as “neolignans” that scientists until now have not realized exist in the cannabis crop.
The study began with Dr. Korey Brownstein, a research chemist with the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL, noticing a strange substance showing up in his analysis as he was studying the chemical composition of hemp roots. Intrigued by these findings, Brownstein led a team of researchers to further investigate and analyze this chemical substance to determine its precise structure.
Discovering neolignans, the research team spent three years isolating and purifying these compounds—a process they described as ‘complex and increasingly difficult.’
Opening New Alternatives for Pediatric Cancer Treatment
The team also collaborated with scientists at the Pediatric Oncology Laboratory at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria, where a team of researchers found that these molecules showed moderate activity in killing pediatric cancer cells (cytotoxic effect) in the laboratory setting.
“We believe this new discovery offers industrial hemp growers a potential new revenue stream from a part of the plant that was previously overlooked,” Brownstein said in a news release. “Unlike crops such as corn or soybeans, which have multiple uses, hemp has been limited in scope. But if we treat hemp as a multi-use crop, we can expand its applications and market—paper, grain, fiber, and now, potentially, pharmaceutical compounds from the roots. The discovery of these compounds adds value to this commodity.”
The team’s next steps include scaling up compound extraction for larger, more controlled functional studies. They aim to explore a broad array of cancer cell lines to assess the therapeutic potential of these neolignans in greater depth.
“This is about opening new doors,” Brownstein emphasized in the release. “We’re expanding the possibilities for using the whole industrial hemp plant. By adding value to the roots, we’re giving farmers more stability and more reasons to invest in this emerging crop.”
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