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Planta Med 2018; 84(04): 250-259
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-124088
Natural Product Chemistry and Analytical Studies
Original Papers
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Determination of Acid and Neutral Cannabinoids in Extracts of Different Strains of Cannabis sativa Using GC-FID

Elsayed A. Ibrahim
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
2   Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
,
Waseem Gul
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
4   ElSohly Laboratories Inc., 5 Industrial Park Drive, Oxford, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Shahbaz W. Gul
4   ElSohly Laboratories Inc., 5 Industrial Park Drive, Oxford, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Brandon J. Stamper
4   ElSohly Laboratories Inc., 5 Industrial Park Drive, Oxford, Mississippi, United States of America
5   Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Ghada M. Hadad
2   Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
,
Randa A. Abdel Salam
2   Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
,
Amany K. Ibrahim
3   Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
,
Safwat A. Ahmed
3   Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
,
Suman Chandra
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Hemant Lata
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Mohamed M. Radwan
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
,
Mahmoud A. ElSohly
1   National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
4   ElSohly Laboratories Inc., 5 Industrial Park Drive, Oxford, Mississippi, United States of America
6   Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi, United States of America
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 29 May 2017
revised 13 November 2017

accepted 25 November 2017

Publication Date:
13 December 2017 (online)

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Abstract

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is an annual herbaceous plant that belongs to the family Cannabaceae. Trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the two major phytocannabinoids accounting for over 40% of the cannabis plant extracts, depending on the variety. At the University of Mississippi, different strains of C. sativa, with different concentration ratios of CBD and Δ9-THC, have been tissue cultured via micropropagation and cultivated. A GC-FID method has been developed and validated for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of acid and neutral cannabinoids in C. sativa extracts. The method involves trimethyl silyl derivatization of the extracts. These cannabinoids include tetrahydrocannabivarian, CBD, cannabichromene, trans-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol, Δ9-THC, cannabigerol, cannabinol, cannabidiolic acid, cannabigerolic acid, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A. The concentration-response relationship of the method indicated a linear relationship between the concentration and peak area ratio with R2 > 0.999 for all 10 cannabinoids. The precision and accuracy of the method were found to be ≤ 15% and ± 5%, respectively. The limit of detection range was 0.11 – 0.19 µg/mL, and the limit of quantitation was 0.34 – 0.56 µg/mL for all 10 cannabinoids. The developed method is simple, sensitive, reproducible, and suitable for the detection and quantitation of acidic and neutral cannabinoids in different extracts of cannabis varieties. The method was applied to the analysis of these cannabinoids in different parts of the micropropagated cannabis plants (buds, leaves, roots, and stems).

Key words

Cannabis sativa L. - Cannabaceae - cannabinoids - GC-FID - TMS derivatization - quantitation

Supporting Information

    Tables 1S and 2S containing the data for the inter- and intra-day precision and accuracy and chromatograms of the three major varieties of C. sativa leaves, in addition to the calibration curves for all 13 cannabinoids, are available as supporting information.

  • Supporting Information
 

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