Biochemical aspects of seeds from Cannabis sativa L. plants grown in a mountain environment

Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) is a versatile plant which can adapt to various environmental conditions. Hempseeds provide high quality lipids, mainly represented by polyunsaturated acids, and highly digestible proteins rich of essential aminoacids. Hempseed composition can vary according to plant genotype, but other factors such as agronomic and climatic conditions can affect the presence of nutraceutic compounds. In this research, seeds from two cultivars of C. sativa (Futura 75 and Finola) grown in a mountain environment of the Italian Alps were analyzed. The main purpose of this study was to investigate changes in the protein profle of seeds obtained from such environments, using two methods (sequential and total proteins) for protein extraction and two analytical approaches SDS-PAGE and 2D-gel electrophoresis, followed by protein identifcation by mass spectrometry. The fatty acids profle and carotenoids content were also analysed. Mountain environments mainly affected fatty acid and protein profles of Finola seeds. These changes were not predictable by the sole comparison of certifed seeds from Futura 75 and Finola cultivars. The fatty acid profle confrmed a high PUFA content in both cultivars from mountain area, while protein analysis revealed a decrease in the protein content of Finola seeds from the experimental felds.