Planta Med 2016; 82 - PA30
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1578645

Improving Sample Preparation Methods For Cannabis-Infused Edible And Topical Products

M Wilcox 1, M Jacyno 1, J Marcu 2, J Neal-Kababick 3
  • 1Grace Discovery Sciences, 2051 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, IL 60015, USA
  • 2Green Standard Diagnostics Inc., 10 Dolce Luna Ct. Henderson, NV 89011, USA
  • 3Flora Research Laboratories, 1000 SE M St, Grants Pass, OR 97526, USA

With implementation of medical marijuana programs in 34 US states, new cannabis products are being developed at a rapid pace, challenging quality control chemists to quickly develop analytical methods to comply with testing requirements. Traditional extraction methods don't always work with complex food or topical matrices. Problems such as non-homogenous samples can lead to inaccurate measurements when using traditional solvent based extraction methods. In addition, large amounts of chlorinated solvents are often needed.

Flash chromatography has been employed to address these challenges by isolating cannabinoids away from interfering compounds (fat, sugar, salts, etc) present in the matrix before analysis, and ensuring a homogenous extraction process. The authors show successful application of the methodology to analysis of several cannabis-infused products: brownies, gummy candies, caramels, and lotion.

Fig. 1: The cannabinoids are well-separated from the sugar and gelatin in the gummy candy resulting in clean cannabinoid fractions to be analyzed by HPLC.