Do Alternative Sources for CBD Exist? Meet Trema Micrantha Blume

Researchers are investigating plants beyond cannabis as sources of cannabinoids and compounds that interact with cannabinoid receptors. One example is Trema micranthum, also known as Trema micrantha. Research has examined both CBD and THC in the plant. It remains a research subject, not an established replacement for cannabis-derived medicines.

What Changed Since the Trema Announcement?

A June 2023 announcement from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro described CBD in the fruits and flowers of this Brazilian tree without accompanying THC. That prompted interest in whether it could provide another source of CBD. Subsequent papers are essential to interpreting the claim:

• July 2024: a negative analytical study. Researchers investigating two samples from Brazil’s Midwest found that an initial color test suggested cannabinoids, but more selective analyses did not confirm them. The study in Plants attributed the screening result to other compounds and warned against relying on a color reaction alone.
• November 2024: detection using high-resolution methods. A separate Scientific Reports study reported CBD, THC, CBDA, and THCA A in extracts from fruits, leaves, and inflorescences. It did not detect them in branches. The reported concentrations were very small and expressed per gram of extract. Those findings contradict a blanket description of the plant as THC-free.
• 2025: broader chemical profiling. A Chemistry & Biodiversity paper expanded the investigation using mass-spectrometry tools to characterize cannabinoid composition. This advances chemical research; it does not demonstrate that Trema tea or a commercial extract treats a medical condition.

The studies used different samples and analytical approaches. Their differing results should be reported openly rather than reduced to a simple promise that the tree provides abundant, inexpensive CBD. Independent confirmation, reproducible yields, and reliable product specifications remain important questions.

Why Detection Does Not Establish a Medicine

Finding a molecule is the beginning of a development process. A useful medicinal source must supply a consistent amount, allow reliable extraction and purification, and meet quality requirements. A finished product then needs evidence for its safety and intended clinical use.

The Trema studies above do not establish an effective human dose, a safe home preparation, or a cost advantage over hemp. Nor does traditional use establish those things. Plant identity, extraction conditions, contaminants, and other constituents can affect what a person actually receives.

Claims about pain relief or anxiety require evidence for the specific compound, formulation, and condition. They cannot be transferred automatically to every plant containing a cannabinoid.

A Different Plant Does Not Automatically Avoid Regulation

Anvisa’s 2026 framework sets sanitary-control requirements for cultivation by legal entities for medicinal or pharmaceutical purposes and scientific research. This is a regulated authorization pathway, not unrestricted cultivation.

That framework does not itself authorize a Trema-derived medicine. Whether a plant can be grown and whether an extracted compound can be manufactured, marketed, or prescribed are separate questions. A non-cannabis origin should not be presented as a universal exemption from medicine or controlled-substance rules.

Other Plants: Similar Targets, Different Evidence

Echinacea

Laboratory research on Echinacea alkylamides found cannabinoid-receptor-related and other effects on immune signaling. These compounds are not CBD. Receptor activity does not establish that an echinacea preparation substitutes for a cannabinoid medicine or reliably relieves pain.

Helichrysum umbraculigerum

The relevant species is a South African plant, not a general category of Mediterranean herbs. A 2023 Nature Plants study characterized cannabis-type cannabinoids, including cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), and their biosynthetic pathways. CBGA is related to CBG, but identifying these molecules does not prove a therapeutic benefit from generic Helichrysum products.

Radula Liverworts

Perrottetinene is a THC-like compound associated with some liverworts. A 2018 experimental study showed CB1-dependent effects in mice, including reduced movement and altered pain responses. It did not establish a safe, milder recreational product or an effective human pain medicine.

Alternative plants can reveal useful chemistry and new production possibilities. The evidence supports continued investigation, while claims of ready-to-use, safer, cheaper, or legally unrestricted treatments require much more than detecting a cannabinoid.