Using a bioreactor, a company in Israel cloned hemp cells to culture them into a powdery biomass that contains all of cannabis’s active compounds and can be dialed up to 12 times the potency. Not to be confused with the horticultural practice of cloning, Rehovot, Israel-based BioHarvest Sciences is cloning at the cellular level.
“Cannabis plants are grown mostly just for the flower,” Sobel continued. “The flower contains the critical trichomes which are the source of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. BioHarvest’s technology allows it to grow cannabis cells with 93% trichomes in its bioreactors.”
The biomass is not grown like a typical plant; instead it’s produced in a bioreactor. “We don’t grow the plant at all,” Sobel told The Times of Israel. “We grow them in huge bioreactors in just three weeks—while regular cannabis takes 14 to 23 weeks. Our tech can also significantly increase the levels of active ingredients, as a percent of the weight, versus what is found normally in the plant.”
And gram for gram, the team at BioHarvest say their cannabis biomass requires less water and resources than plants.