Research:2026-07-18/Journal article/terroir-driven-phenolic-chemotypes-and-antioxidant-antimicrobial-activities-of-beldia-cannabis-sativa-l-seed-e

Research record18 July 2026Journal article

Terroir-driven phenolic chemotypes and antioxidant/antimicrobial activities of Beldia (Cannabis sativa L.) seed extracts

Oumayma Boussetta, Oussama Khibech, Abdessadek Essadek, Shehdeh Jodeh, Meryem Idrissi Yahyaoui, Abdeslam Asehraou, Chin-Hung Lai, Mohammed Ramdani

Journal of Cannabis Research · 2026

Abstract

Geographical variation in the phenolic composition and bioactivity of Moroccan Beldia (Cannabis sativa L.) seeds remains insufficiently characterized, limiting their rational valorization as bioactive resources. This study investigated aqueous extracts from defatted seeds collected in Ketama, Taounate, and Ouazzane using HPLC–DAD phenolic profiling, antioxidant and antimicrobial assays, and molecular docking. Data are reported as mean ± SD (n = 3), and regional differences were evaluated by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test when applicable. Clear regional discrimination was observed. Ouazzane gave the highest extraction yield (8.08 ± 0.24%), total phenolic content (16.13 ± 0.48 mg GAE/100 g DM), total flavonoid content (6.78 ± 0.20 mg QE/100 g DM), and total antioxidant capacity (565.80 ± 5.90 mg AAE/g), whereas Ketama showed the strongest DPPH scavenging activity (IC₅₀ = 10.25 ± 0.03 µg/mL). HPLC–DAD revealed distinct chemotypes dominated by 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (33.26–36.63%), with Taounate enriched in vanillic acid (35.00%) and caffeic acid (20.44%). Antimicrobial assays showed the best MIC values against Micrococcus luteus (0.50 ± 0.01 mg/mL) and Geotrichum candidum (0.12 ± 0.00 mg/mL). Docking highlighted flavonoid-type constituents as the most plausible active contributors, with catechin hydrate and rutin showing the strongest affinity toward CYP51 (-9.6 kcal/mol). Moroccan terroir strongly shapes the functional profile of Beldia seed extracts and supports region-guided sourcing for future bioactive applications.

The paper's abstract, reproduced as published.

DOI

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Record created 8 August 2026 · maintained by landrace.wiki editors · page history

Published18 Jul 2026

TypeJournal article

VenueJournal of Cannabis Research

Year2026

DOI10.1186/s42238-026-00468-y

CountryMorocco

Growing regionRif Mountains

DOI

2026-07-18 2026-08-08 Terroir-driven phenolic chemotypes and antioxidant/antimicrobial activities of Beldia (Cannabis sativa L.) seed extracts Journal article Chemistry Oumayma Boussetta, Oussama Khibech, Abdessadek Essadek, Shehdeh Jodeh, Meryem Idrissi Yahyaoui, Abdeslam Asehraou, Chin-Hung Lai, Mohammed Ramdani Journal of Cannabis Research 2026 10.1186/s42238-026-00468-y https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-026-00468-y Compares the phenolic composition of defatted seed extracts from the Moroccan Beldia landrace collected at three localities in the Rif: Ketama, Taounate and Ouazzane. HPLC-DAD profiling separated the localities, with Ouazzane samples highest in total phenolics and flavonoids, Ketama samples showing the strongest DPPH radical scavenging and Taounate samples shifted towards vanillic acid against a general dominance of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The authors attribute the variation to Moroccan terroir. The study concerns seed chemistry rather than resin, so it does not speak to hashish composition. Its three localities correspond to documented Rif growing areas and it sits alongside the other Moroccan terroir records in this corpus. Geographical variation in the phenolic composition and bioactivity of Moroccan Beldia (Cannabis sativa L.) seeds remains insufficiently characterized, limiting their rational valorization as bioactive resources. This study investigated aqueous extracts from defatted seeds collected in Ketama, Taounate, and Ouazzane using HPLC–DAD phenolic profiling, antioxidant and antimicrobial assays, and molecular docking. Data are reported as mean ± SD (n = 3), and regional differences were evaluated by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test when applicable. Clear regional discrimination was observed. Ouazzane gave the highest extraction yield (8.08 ± 0.24%), total phenolic content (16.13 ± 0.48 mg GAE/100 g DM), total flavonoid content (6.78 ± 0.20 mg QE/100 g DM), and total antioxidant capacity (565.80 ± 5.90 mg AAE/g), whereas Ketama showed the strongest DPPH scavenging activity (IC₅₀ = 10.25 ± 0.03 µg/mL). HPLC–DAD revealed distinct chemotypes dominated by 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (33.26–36.63%), with Taounate enriched in vanillic acid (35.00%) and caffeic acid (20.44%). Antimicrobial assays showed the best MIC values against Micrococcus luteus (0.50 ± 0.01 mg/mL) and Geotrichum candidum (0.12 ± 0.00 mg/mL). Docking highlighted flavonoid-type constituents as the most plausible active contributors, with catechin hydrate and rutin showing the strongest affinity toward CYP51 (-9.6 kcal/mol). Moroccan terroir strongly shapes the functional profile of Beldia seed extracts and supports region-guided sourcing for future bioactive applications. Morocco Rif Mountains Research-tile-2026-07-18-terroir-beldia-seed.jpg