Abstract

The Cannabis sativa plant is an excellent source of metabolites, fiber, and medicinal properties. Phytocannabinoids are the secondary metabolites naturally derived from Cannabis plant species. These metabolites are promising and can be used in producing phytomedicine or plant-based therapeutics. However, many of these compounds are produced in low quantities across different Cannabis species. To solve this limitation, in vitro, biotechnological methods offer promising solutions for enhancing the production of secondary metabolites in Cannabis. This review highlights the biotechnological approaches for enhancing Cannabis secondary metabolite production through in vitro plant improvement techniques such as plant regeneration, elicitor-responsive metabolite induction, polyploidy manipulation, protoplast culture, bioreactor-based hairy root culture, genetic transformation, and genome editing. These biotechnological approaches might be useful for improving Cannabis plants and increasing plant capacity to produce potential metabolites. These phytochemical and bioactive compounds found in Cannabis species could be used as alternative resources for pharmaceutical and industrial production.

Key words: Cannabis, Secondary metabolite, In vitro, Elicitor, Gene editing