Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Analysis; Jan2005, Vol. 36 Issue 5, p939, 8p

A rapid and simple procedure for the determination of cannabinoids in hemp food products by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Manuela Pellegrini, Emilia Marchei, Roberta Pacifici and Simona Pichini,

Drug Research and Control Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanitá, V.le Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy

Received 28 May 2004; revised 30 July 2004; accepted 31 July 2004. Available online 22 October 2004.

Abstract

A rapid and simple procedure using liquid-liquid extraction and subsequent gas chromatographic mass-spectrometric detection has been developed for determination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) in different hemp foods. After addition of delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol as internal standard, both solid and liquid specimens were extracted with two volumes of 2 ml of hexane/isopropanol (9:1): Chromatography was performed on a fused silica capillary column and analytes were determined in the selected-ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. The method was validated in the range 1-50 ng/ml liquid samples or 1-50 ng/g solid samples for THC and CBN, and 2-50 ng/ml or ng/g for CBD. Mean recoveries ranged between 78.8 and 90.2% for the different analytes in solid and liquid samples. The quantification limits were 1 ng/ml or ng/g for THC and CBN and 2 ng/ml or ng/g CBD. The method was applied to analysis of various hemp foods. THC content in different products varied 50-fold, whereas CBN and CBD were absent in some samples and achieved hundreds of ng/ml or ng/g in others. The concentration ratio (THC + CBN)/CBD was used to differentiate between the phenotypes of cannabis plants in different specimens. Products possibly originating from drug-type cannabis plants were found in the majority of analyzed specimens.

Keywords: Cannabinoids; Hemp food; Liquid-liquid extraction; Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry

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