Nutrition security is a challenge of the XXI century for achieving a sustainable health. Hemp cultivation contributes to the
European Green Deal objectives and is a potential solution for producing a more sustainable food chain and contributing to
the nutrition security of the global population. Hemp, Cannabis sativa cultivars containing less than 0.2% of D9-
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is a multipurpose crop which can be used to produce feed, food and supplements among
other products (biodegradable plastics, paper, paint). Hemp seeds are the hemp component most used in the food context,
and the products derived from them (oil, cake, flour and proteins) are gaining popularity in human nutrition. In the
European Union (EU), only marketing of hemp seeds and their derivatives, such as hemp seed oil, hemp seed flour, defatted
hemp seed, and germinated hemp seed is authorized. Other parts of the plant are considered as novel foods. Nutrition claims
“high dietary fiber, high protein, low saturated fat, high omega-3 fatty acids, high polyunsaturated fat, high unsaturated fat”
can be attributed to those hemp products. In addition, hemp is a source of bioactive compounds, cannabinoids and others,
with great impact in health including that of the brain-gut axis which is essential for achieving optimal physical and
emotional conditions. The present chapter represents an updated revision of the state of the art on the potential of hemp in
nutrition security.
The authors are grateful to the projects 201970E117 and PID 2019-111510RB-I00 funded by Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
and the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, that funded this work. The authors are also grateful to ALIMNOVA-UCM research group 951505-GRFN17-21. J. I. Alonso-Esteban thanks the Spanish ‘Ministerio de Universidades’ and European Union-Next Generation EU Funds (Call for
Grants for the Requalification of the Spanish University System for the period 2021–2023, Margarita Salas modality) for the financial support. Photos
of Fig. 5 are property of Área de Farmacología y Nutrición, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas de la Salud, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (URJC),
Alcorcón, Spain.
