著者

田浦 太志 正山 祥生 森元 聡

出版者

一般社団法人 日本生物物理学会

雑誌

生物物理 (ISSN:05824052)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.45, no.4, pp.178-184, 2005 (Released:2005-07-25)

参考文献数

10

被引用文献数

2 2

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Cannabis sativa produces novel secondary metabolites called cannabinoids. Among them, Δ1-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of this plant, has attracted a great deal of attention, because this cannabinoid is shown to exert a variety of therapeutic activities such as the relief of nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. To reveal the mechanism of THC formation in Cannabis sativa, we attempted biosynthetic studies. Consequently, we established that Δ1-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), the precursor of THC, is derived from cannabigerolic acid and that this reaction is catalyzed by the novel oxidocyclase, THCA synthase. Here, we show the biochemical and structural properties of THCA synthase.