Israeli company clones cannabis cells – not plants – up to 12x potency

Using a bioreactor, a company in Israel has cloned hemp cells to cultivate them into a powdered biomass that contains all the active compounds of cannabis and can be adjusted to 12x potency. Not to be confused with the horticultural practice of cloning, Rehovot, Israel-based BioHarvest Sciences, clones at the cellular level.

One of the benefits of this technology is the potential to minimize waste. “Some of the plant matter of the cannabis plant is waste that can be avoided with BioHarvest technology,” BioHarvest CEO Ilan Sobel told High Times in an email.

“Cannabis plants are mainly grown just for flowering,” Sobel continued. “The flower contains the critical trichomes, which are the source of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. BioHarvest’s technology makes it possible to grow cannabis cells with 93% trichomes in its bioreactors.”

The biomass is not grown like a typical crop; instead, it is made 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 technology can also significantly increase the percentage of active ingredients by weight compared to what is normally found in the plant.”

And gram for gram, the team at BioHarvest says their cannabis biomass requires less water and resources than plants.

Sobel and BioHarvest insist that the cells have not been genetically modified and that they are identical to cells from living plants. While the technology may sound far-reaching to the untrained ear, it’s a great way to avoid unwanted waste of plant matter and increase potency. The biomass they produce is full spectrum and contains the variety of phytocannabinoids one would find in a plant.

“Our composition contains significant amounts of both the major cannabinoids like CBD and THC, as well as significant amounts of the so-called minor cannabinoids,” Sobel told The Times.

The team is able to boost potency by tinkering with the conditions in the bioreactor. He continued, “By tailoring specific conditions to which the cells are exposed, we can create different desired compositions of active ingredients, which means we can toggle on and off the different cannabinoids [compounds].”

The team doesn’t reveal the proprietary technology in detail, but said they have the power to increase potency 12 times simply by changing the environment in the bioreactor.

If you try to imagine what it looks like, they offer a basic explanation.

Courtesy of BioHarvest Sciences

The BioHarvest Sciences team invented Bio-Plant CELLicitation™, which is detailed on the website. A plant is selected that contains important active phytochemicals. Then they are cut into small pieces and placed in a Petri dish on a solid medium containing nutrients. Like a plant, cells need light, oxygen and nutrients. Then these cells are stored in a cell bank for ongoing production. They are bio farmed and when the biomass grows enough it is harvested into a powder and the powder can be used for various purposes.

According to BioHarvest Sciences, each gallon of water produces 54 times (!) more bioreactor material than plant material and the land requirement is reduced by over 90%.

This system also allows producers to avoid contamination and also avoid the variation in cannabis compounds that nature dictates in plants.

On May 12, BioHarvest announced the composition of their biomass, saying that trichomes make up 93% of the cannabis biomass produced using Bio-Plant’s proprietary CELLicitation™ technology and that the bitter taste of plant matter is significantly reduced.

“The bottom line is that we can make cannabis and hemp much more useful than before, at a lower cost to our planetary resources,” Sober told The Times. “It’s a wellness and sustainability solution from Israel that can make a truly inspiring contribution to the world.”

dr Yochi Hagay and Dr. Zaki Rakib formed BioHarvest after meeting in 2007. Along with cannabis, BioHarvest Sciences’ first product, Vinia, is derived from red grape cells and contains a rich polyphenol complex that is beneficial for cardiovascular health. The company is currently represented in the USA and Canada.