For years, the debate over industrial hemp has focused on the visible: fiber, seeds, CBD and, to a lesser extent, biomaterials. However, a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forces us to rethink that limited vision. Research reveals that hemp roots, traditionally treated as agricultural waste, contain compounds with promising activity against certain types of pediatric cancer in laboratory studies.
The finding not only has scientific implications. It also raises an uncomfortable question for the industry: How much value are we still literally burying for lack of research and regulatory insight?
The study, released by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, identified in hemp roots a series of phenolic and neolignan compounds that showed cytotoxic activity against childhood cancer cell lines in in vitro models. These are not classic cannabinoids such as CBD or THC, but rather a phytochemistry practically ignored by the market.
This point is key. The cannabis industry has built its economic narrative around a small number of molecules, when the plant and in particular hemp has a chemical complexity comparable to that of crops that today support multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industries.
It is important to be clear: these results do not imply approved treatments or immediate cures. We are facing early science. But that’s how any relevant biomedical innovation begins: with data, not marketing.
The use of cannabis roots is not new. In traditional Chinese medicine they have been used for centuries to treat inflammation, joint pain and urinary disorders. In modern times, various preclinical studies have documented that root extracts have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and metabolism-modulating properties.
What is new now is the possible oncological application, particularly in pediatric cancer, a field where therapeutic options remain limited and highly aggressive. If its usefulness is confirmed in subsequent phases of research, we would be facing a new line of pharmacological development of plant origin, with high added value.
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From a business perspective, the message is strong. Each hectare of hemp produces tons of biomass that is not monetized today. The roots, specifically, generate management costs without economic return. Converting them into input for biomedical, nutraceutical or biotechnological research completely changes the crop’s profitability equation.
For farmers, this means income diversification. For the industry, vertical integration. For countries with an agro-industrial vocation, like Mexico, a real opportunity to participate in value chains based on knowledge and not just volume.
Scientific progress also exposes a structural weakness: regulatory frameworks that continue to treat hemp as a crop of low strategic value. Without clear incentives for research, without schemes that facilitate collaboration between universities, the private sector and health authorities, these discoveries run the risk of staying in the laboratory.
Mexico has the agricultural capacity, the scientific talent and the economic need to bet on a cannabis bioindustry based on innovation, not improvisation. But that requires clear rules, investment in R&D and a public narrative that understands cannabis for what it is: a plant technology platform.
Hemp roots are not a botanical curiosity. They are a reminder of how much potential remains unexplored due to prejudice, misinformation or regulatory paralysis. While other countries begin to transform agricultural waste into knowledge and economic value, Mexico faces a strategic decision: continue looking only at the surface or finally start working from the roots.
Because in the cannabis industry, as in the economy, what is not investigated is not capitalized.
About the author:
Twitter: @anicannmx
http://www.anicann.org/
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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