Hexanoic Acid Treatment of Cannabis for Potential Increased THC synthesis - Cannabis Cultivation

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That Guy

Registered: 08/12/08
Posts: 4,035
Loc: Southwestern US

Hexanoic Acid Treatment of Cannabis for Potential Increased THC synthesis

#822559 - 01/10/17 07:56 PM (7 years, 10 months ago)

Let me start by saying that all of this has not been tested, more of a theory than anything. :shrug:

Consider the THC biosynthesis pathway:

And consider this article, in which hexanoyl-CoA is found to be present in in relatively high amounts in the female flower tissues, yet still on the order of 15 picoMols per gram fresh weight (0.0000013% of total flower tissue weight). Since this is roughly a billionth of the % weight of THC in the final flower tissue, it can be safely assumed that hexanoyl-CoA is utilized fairly quickly, and is almost solely utilized for Cannabinoid sythesis.

Hexanoyl-CoA is produced from Hexanoic acid, a fatty acid normally present in animal fats. This article and This article outlines how application of Hexanoic acid to the roots of certain plants primes and activates certain mevalonic acid pathways (terpenoid production) and linoleic acid pathway (linoleic acid is found in high % in hemp oil, and is one of several precursors involved in hexanoyl-CoA production in cannabis, suggesting that unpollinated female flowers may divert some of these fatty acids to cannabinoids as they build up in the flower tissue). This is further supported by the fact that many plants treated with hexanoic acid increased volitile organic compound production, especially citrus and tomatoes (both of which produce a decent amount of terpenoids as-is).

The only problem with this theory is that the evidence suggests that the hexanoic acid is not mobile, and thus stays in the tissue where it is applied (at least within the first 72 hours). But the response (mevalonic and linoleic) seems to act over the entire plant, possible through remote signalling. Perhaps this would be enough to stimulate increased cannabinoid production, or perhaps a foliar spray would deliver the hexanoic acid into the proper tissues for cannabinoid production. We must also remember that the primary reason for this pathway and similar enzymatic pathways in other plants is usually up-regulated in response to stress. The studies with hexanoic acid noted a higher upregulation of the various response pathways with a combination of hexanoic acid application and infection (or stress). This stress response is the underlying theory behind application of UVB to cannabis and increased THC content, and it may be that a combination of UVB stress and application of hexanoic acid would elicit the strongest response from the cannabinoid synthesis pathways. :shrug:

Either way, hexanoic acid (caproic acid) can be purchased online for fairly cheap. I currently do not know of a way (at least in my state) to properly determine the difference in THC content between two flower samples, but I figured I would post my thoughts on this for anyone living in a state with access to better resources. Maybe someone can weigh in on this theory, or suggest a good way for me to go about testing THC content in a non-laboratory environment?

Thanks for reading :peace:

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“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” -NDT

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Data
That Guy

Registered: 08/12/08
Posts: 4,035
Loc: Southwestern US

Re: Hexanoic Acid Treatment of Cannabis for Potential Increased THC synthesis

[Re: Data]
#822574 - 01/11/17 01:36 PM (7 years, 10 months ago)

Sorry to double post, but as a followup, I checked the MSDS for hexanoic acid, and I would recommend against foliar spray. Hexanoic acid is not nice to the mucous membranes, and is a stable compound, so any acid residues left on the surface of the plant could be inhaled while smoking/vaping. :eek:

Still could be used as a root treatment, as the acid form is not mobile. Its biological derivative, hexanoyl-CoA may be mobile, and move up the plant once converted, but I would expect any effects from this to be stimulated by remote signaling pathways rather than direct conversion and transport.