Terpene Research
Unearthing the Active Ingredients | The Eybna Story
Sixty years of Israeli botanical research, from Mechoulam to the entourage effect - and how Eybna's BNA™ platform applies it to food, cannabis, and wellness.
Israel has spent sixty years at the center of botanical science. From Raphael Mechoulam's isolation of the first active compounds in 1963 to the discovery of the entourage effect in 1999. This is the story of how a small country became the world's research hub for terpenes and plant medicine, and how Eybna's BNA™ platform turns that science into applied solutions for the food and beverage, cannabis, and wellness industries.
In Israel, the longstanding history of hemp research is inexorably tied to Professor Raphael Mechoulam. During his research in the 1960's, Mechoulam began investigating the cannabis plant after learning about the isolation of morphine from opium.
His efforts centered on identifying the active ingredient, believing it would pave the way for greater scientific study. Through his collaborative efforts with Drs. Yechiel Ganoi and Yuval Shvo, Mechoulam was able to isolate many active molecules. In 1964, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound found in cannabis, was identified.
Mechoulam and Gaoni were able to synthesize THC, paving the way for other important discoveries - including the endocannabinoid system. These findings are widly attributed as a major milestone for plant research, marking the first time the active compounds were successfully identified. It also inspired the hunt for other crucial compounds.
The Stamp of Approval
In 1996, the Israeli government officially approved the first medical cannabis license in Tel Aviv, opening doors for a radical change in the country's future of alternative medicine.
Following the breakthrough, the research around cannabis truly emerged as Israel's Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture actively supported these studies.
The Inspirational Entourage
Cannabis is known for containing more than 400 compounds. Although most are contained in smaller quantities relative to cannabinoids, these compounds can produce a variety of biological responses.
In 1999, Dr. Shimon Ben-Shabat and Mechoulam discovered what has become the most important findings of cannabis research. Today we call it "the Entourage Effect." Determining the active compounds in isolation produced different reactions when compared to multiple compounds interacting simultaneously has directly influenced how cannabis medicines and products are developed today.
Grounded in Research
In Israel in 2007, the first private medical cultivation and distribution licenses were established. As the expansion of the industry continued, studies were expanded to several areas of medicine.
Professor Dedi Meiri, of Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, has focused his research on novel cancer treatments, attempting to identify the anti-tumor effects of cannabinoids.
Carrying the Story Forward
Eybna was built inside that story - found in Israel to do for the wider plant kingdom what Mechoulam's generation did for cannabis: identify the active molecules, understand how they work together, and make that understanding usable.
That work runs on the BNA™ platform, Eybna's research and formulation engine, built on more than a dozen research collaborations, a library of more than 2,000 compounds, and proprietary methods for mapping how botanical compounds behave in combination rather than in isolation. It is the entourage effect, operationalized. And it powers solutions across food and beverage, cannabis, and wellness industries.
Sixty years of Israel research proved that plants are more sophisticated than we know. Eybna's mission is to make that proof useful: improving quality of life through botanical solutions.
