Frequently Asked Questions about the Wairuakohu research project
Last update: January 2025
1. Where is wairuakohu found?
Wairuakohu, or Radula marginata, is a liverwort endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand that has been found growing wild in many parts of the country, mostly in the North Island but also at the top of the South Island and on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) and Te Hauturu-o-Toi (Little Barrier Island).
2. Who discovered PET?
In 1994 Japanese researcher Yoshinoiu Asakawa and co-workers reported the discovery of a bibenzyl monoterpene, which they named perrottetinen (later called perrottetinene, referred to as PET here, structure 1 on the left in the diagram below) (Toyota et al. 1994). This was found in a Japanese collection of the liverwort Radula perrottetii. The Japanese paper pointed out the structural similarity of PET to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive substance found in Cannabis sativa. Another study in 2002 from the same research team, along with a New Zealand researcher, reported that PET was found in wairuakohu from Aotearoa New Zealand.
PET was also found in Radula laxiramea from Costa Rica (Cullmann and Becker 1999). Another study published in 2020 reported PET in two other species collected in Japan (Asakawa et al. 2020). There are no other scientific reports of PET from natural sources.
3. What does PET do in humans?
The confirmation that PET is a potentially therapeutic cannabinoid did not come until 2018. A paper from a group of Swiss researchers (who are now working with the Aotearoa consortium) demonstrated that chemically synthesised PET readily penetrated the brain of mice, cooling it and acting as an analgesia (Chicca et al. 2018).
4. Who discovered PDT and what is interesting about it?
The Aotearoa consortium discovered PDT in wairuakohu. Others had suggested it could exist theoretically and had produced synthetic versions of the molecule, but our team found it in wairuakohu alongside PET – so structural analogues of both THC and CBD are found in this special plant.
We measured the levels in plants from different locations and across different seasons over 2-3 years and found, a bit like Cannabis, the concentrations of the different cannabinoids are based on the genetics of what could be considered different varieties of wairuakohu.
We have been undertaking studies of PDT using specialist labs overseas and will share some of those results in the future.
5. What is the urgency with this project?
A number of patent applications relating to PET have been filed by companies and research organisations around the world. There is both medical and commercial interest in naturally-sourced cannabinoids that may have similar health benefits to compounds found in Cannabis without some of the side effects.
6. Which iwi are involved so far?
Ngāti Hinerangi, Ngaati Hauaa and Te Kawerau a Maki. Other iwi that have wairuakohu in their rohe were also engaged early in the process and the structure of the initiative is organised to include others who are now being invited to join the collaboration.
7. How can other iwi/Māori join the project?
Contact Manu Caddie – manu@enquire.co.nz
8. Who are the project partners and what are the legal/IP arrangements between them?
Current project partners:
- Iwi/Kaitiaki – the founding iwi involved with the kaupapa are Ngāti Hinerangi, Te Kawerau a Maki and Ngaati Hauaa, each has nominated representatives for an iwi-mandated organisation and they have participated in project planning and decision-making over the last five years. The iwi involved have formed the Wairuakohu Charitable Trust to represent the interests of the taonga (plant species) and Te Taiao (ecosystems) that have supported the taonga over millions of years. Other iwi will be able to get involved in the collaboration through this Trust.
- IO Ltd – a private company owned by the project instigator Manu Caddie. Manu began looking into the science and Mātauranga Māori associated with wairuakohu in 2017 as part of his work with Hikurangi Bioactives Limited Partnership (HBLP) – the project transferred to Rua Bioscience Ltd (RBL) and now has six formal partners from Aotearoa and research collaborations with a range of institutions in Australia, Switzerland, Germany and France.
- Rua Bioscience (RBL) – a publicly listed (NZX:RUA) pharmaceuticals company specialising in cannabinoid medicines and product development with sales channels in Germany, UK, Australia and New Zealand. RBL was established as a cannabis and cannabinoids medicines focused spinoff from HBLP in 2018 and, following successful local crowdfunding and private investment, listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2020. RBL invested the first funds into the venture that paid for researchers to undertake a number of studies involving the plant.
- Plant & Food Research – one of seven Crown Research Institutes, Plant & Food Research delivers science to support the horticulture, wine, arable, seafood and food and beverage sectors.. It has many collaborations with iwi/Māori partners and this project has helped develop some of the policy innovations around partnering with iwi/Māori.
The commercial arrangements between the partners are confidential, but details are likely to be shared in time.
9. What is the relevance of WAI262 and Nagoya Protocol to this project?
Commonly known as the “flora and fauna” claim, the WAI262 claim, filed in 1991 by six claimants on behalf of all Māori, asserts that the Crown has denied Māori tino rangatiratanga, including ownership, access, and control over taonga and natural resources, leading to cultural and economic dispossession. Key grievances include exclusion from decisions about the conservation and use of native species.
The statement of claim highlights several issues related to bioprospecting with wairuakohu, especially those concerning indigenous flora and fauna:
- Intellectual property rights and their knowledge in preserving biodiversity and developing eco-ethno ethics;
- The right to participate in, benefit from, and decide on technological advances related to breeding, genetic manipulation, and other processes;
- The right to control and decide on the propagation, development, transport, study, or sale;
- The right to protect, enhance, and transmit cultural, medicinal, and spiritual knowledge of indigenous species;
- The right to environmental well-being through wise use of indigenous flora and fauna;
- The iwi interest in the continued existence of flora and fauna as connected elements of te ao turoa.
In 2011, the Waitangi Tribunal published Ko Aotearoa Tenei, examining intellectual property rights, including those related to native species. The Tribunal concluded that Māori knowledge of native species is taonga, guaranteed by tino rangatiratanga. It noted the Crown’s failure to uphold this principle and recommended empowering Māori through kaitiakitanga.
More than a decade later, Māori are still waiting for an official response.
Wairuakohu project team member Manu Caddie is working with the WAI262 claimant group and Te Puni Kokiri on developing a Te Tiriti-compliant bioprospecting regulatory framework for Aotearoa.
10. Where is the Government at with WAI262?
The website for Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry for Māori Development, provides regular updates here.
11. What are the relevant international treaties and protocols?
Some of the international agreements that New Zealand has, and has not, signed up to include:
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Adopted in 2007 and endorsed by New Zealand in 2010, this Declaration is the most comprehensive instrument addressing Indigenous rights, affirming their ownership and control in relation to lands, territories, resources, and deriving intellectual property.
- UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): Established in 1992, the CBD is a legally binding treaty focused on conserving biological diversity, promoting sustainable resource use and sharing the benefits of genetic resources fairly and equitably. New Zealand has ratified this treaty.
- Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing: Created in 2010, this protocol addresses access to biological material and the sharing of benefits while recognising the rights of Indigenous communities to grant access. New Zealand has not signed or ratified the Nagoya Protocol.
- The CBD and Nagoya Protocol emphasise state ownership of natural resources, (though a recent CBD decision has established a global mechanism for benefits derived from Digital Sequence Information sourced from biological resources to be shared with Indigenous Peoples and local communities), whereas the Declaration emphasises Indigenous ownership. Reconciling these views involves interpreting the CBD and Nagoya Protocol in line with the Declaration.
- WIPO Treaty on Genetic Resources and Association Traditional Knowledge: Approved by World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2024 provides for any new patents reliant on genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge derived from signatory countries, to demonstrate appropriate permissions and benefit sharing with Indigenous Peoples. New Zealand supported Indigenous Peoples during successive negotiations but has not yet committed to signing the Treaty.
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): is an agreement that aims to regulate the international trade of wild animals and plants to ensure their survival. CITES includes efforts to strengthen the voices of communities and involve them in decision-making.
12. Who else is working on wairuakohu around the world?
We are working with a number of research teams around the world who have an interest in wairuakohu and the compounds found in the plant. We have collaborations with groups in France, Switzerland, Australia and Germany.
One researcher who has collaborated with the team from Aotearoa New Zealand is Professor Oliver Kayser, who is based at Dortmund Technical University (Technische Universität Dortmund). Prof Kayser has conducted significant work on wairuakohu (Radula marginata) exploring cannabinoids found in the plant. Prof Kayser’s lab has been involved in investigating the biosynthesis of these compounds and understanding the gene pathways responsible for their production. This could lead to advancements in sustainable production methods, such as biotechnological processes, to produce these valuable compounds at larger scales.
13. How much could this be worth commercially?
The Intellectual Property developed from this research could one day become a blockbuster drug worth billions, but more likely it is an interesting and exciting exploration of unique compounds found in an indigenous plant that will help build local capability in ethical bioprospecting and could be used in natural health products and as a functional food ingredient.
14. Is there any traditional knowledge about wairuakohu?
We have some stories from the kaitiaki communities of traditional use, but this is mātauranga they will retain amongst themselves. It has not guided our research programme.
16. What happens if you smoke/ingest wairuakohu?
Nothing of significance. The levels of cannabinoids in the plant are too low to provide any noticeable physical or psychological effects.
17. What is the relationship between Cannabis and wairuakohu?
The evolutionary relationship between wairuakohu (a member of the bryophyte clade) and Cannabis (a eudicot – flowering plant – and a member of the tracheophyte clade) is separated by some 320 million years. As such, they are distinctly different and wairuakohu lacks many of the structural features of Cannabis, such as roots, trunk and flowers. They do share similar structures (oil bodies) for the storage of cannabinoid-like compounds, but these are located in different areas (externally for cannabis and internally for wairuakohu).
18. Does the plant get you high?
No. So anyone taking the plant from the bush is wasting their time and could impact on the delicate ecology of the plant and its relationship with the wider ecosystem if they take too much. Any native plant should only be harvested with permission of the kaitiaki for that rohe – which is a collective, rather than individual decision to be made by mana whenua.
19. How fast does it grow?
Extremely slowly – around one millimetre per month. So anyone taking the plant from the bush is wasting their time and could impact on the delicate ecology of the plant and its relationship with the wider ecosystem if they take too much. Any native plant should only be harvested with permission of the kaitiaki for that rohe – which is a collective, rather than individual decision to be made by mana whenua.
20. Where does the name wairuakohu come from?
We’re not sure exactly, but it is in common use amongst the kaitiaki Māori working on this project and may have other names within different rohe.
21. Where can I find out more?
This research collaboration website will be updated regularly, you can also contact us if you have specific questions.