Hempseed: A functional food source

Hemp is an ancient crop whose production has been curtailed until recently due to restriction imposed because of phytocannabinoids presence. Industrial hempseed low in tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol is increasingly being grown in many countries, and its acreage is expected to increase further. Commercial hempseed processing generates two major products, oils and proteins and hempseed hulls as a by-product. The polyunsaturated fatty acid rich oil has 3: 1 n-6/n-3 ratio considered to benefit human health along with γ-linolenic and stearidonic acids rarely encountered in commercial plant oils. Edestin one of the earliest and easily extractable hempseed proteins can be hydrolyzed along with other hempseed proteins to obtain hydrolysates and bioactive peptides with vascular tone modulation and other beneficial functionalities. The hull is a rich source of lignanamides with demonstrated neuroprotective effects. This chapter reviews the composition of industrial hempseed and processed products, as well as their characteristics, functionality, health benefits, and mode of action. Hempseed components, oil, protein, and lignanamides share common mechanism of action - NF-kB signaling pathway and apoptosis despite their different mode of action.