Tennessee Speaker Beth Harwell and other legislators are expected to be on the Middle Tennessee State University campus Monday (2/5/18) to tour the Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research.

The Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research (TCBMR) and the Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants (GBGMP) in Nanning, China, the holder of the largest depository of plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), have entered into an exclusive collaborative agreement and developed a novel approach to accelerate the development of Western medicines from botanical extracts based on their respective strengths and expertise.

The GBGMP, home to over 5,000 plants, has developed a novel proprietary process to isolate the active compounds from plants used in TCM, while the TCBMR has developed high throughput microplate platforms to rapidly screen for anticancer, antiviral, antimicrobial, antiprotozoal, antihelminthic and immunomodulator activities.

The purpose of the touron Monday is to illustrate the development and research that the center has been doing on non-psychotropic cannabinoids, which are derived from hemp, for various purposes, including medicinal.

The tour will visit the main laboratories and greenhouse in the MTSU Science Building and will show many varieties of hemp being grown. The research by the center on non-psychotropic cannabinoids would be pertinent should Tennessee expand on a medical cannabis patient program for various pains and conditions.