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Planta Med 2018; 84(04): 260-266
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-124873
Natural Product Chemistry and Analytical Studies
Original Papers
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Quantitative Determination of Δ9-THC, CBG, CBD, Their Acid Precursors and Five Other Neutral Cannabinoids by UHPLC-UV-MS

Authors

  • Yan-Hong Wang

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Bharathi Avula

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Mahmoud A. ElSohly

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
    2   Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Mohamed M. Radwan

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Mei Wang

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Amira S. Wanas

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Zlatko Mehmedic

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

  • Ikhlas A. Khan

    1   National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
    3   Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of BioMolecular Sciences, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA
Further Information

Publication History

received 05 January 2017
revised 29 November 2017

accepted 07 December 2017

Publication Date:
20 December 2017 (online)

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Abstract

Cannabinoids are a group of terpenophenolic compounds in the medicinal plant Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae family). Cannabigerolic acid, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A, cannabidiolic acid, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabigerol, cannabidiol, cannabichromene, and tetrahydrocannabivarin are major metabolites in the classification of different strains of C. sativa. Degradation or artifact cannabinoids cannabinol, cannabicyclol, and Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol are formed under the influence of heat and light during processing and storage of the plant sample. An ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatographic method coupled with photodiode array and single quadruple mass spectrometry detectors was developed and validated for quantitative determination of 11 cannabinoids in different C. sativa samples. Compounds 1 – 11 were baseline separated with an acetonitrile (with 0.05% formic acid) and water (with 0.05% formic acid) gradient at a flow rate of 0.25 mL/min on a Waters Cortec UPLC C18 column (100 mm × 2.1 mm I. D., 1.6 µm). The limits of detection and limits of quantitation of the 11 cannabinoids were below 0.2 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviation for the precision test was below 2.4%. A mixture of acetonitrile and methanol (80 : 20, v/v) was proven to be the best solvent system for the sample preparation. The recovery of all analytes was in the range of 97 – 105%. A total of 32 Cannabis samples including hashish, leaves, and flower buds were analyzed.

Key words

Cannabis sativa - Cannabaceae - cannabinoids - tetrahydrocannabinol - cannabidiol - tetrahydrocannabinolic acid - UHPLC-UV-MS