Researchers in Slovenia could have discovered an answer to one of many greatest points relating to hashish testing and labeling.
Customers on the lookout for high-THC content material or a specific terpene profile in a hashish product frequently specific their want for extra express identification of elements, however producers usually resist testing as a result of the volatility and low focus of terpenes—relative to cannabinoids—require the compounds to be measured individually.
To beat this time-consuming and costly course of, scientists have found a comparatively easy approach to precisely measure cannabinoid and terpene content material concurrently.
The predominant analytical strategies for measuring cannabinoid content material are gasoline chromatography (GC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with the latter changing into more and more well-liked. Terpenes, alternatively, are often measured individually utilizing GC, partly as a result of the optimum extraction of cannabinoids and terpenes requires totally different circumstances, most notably the solvents used.
The researchers targeted on the circumstances of pattern preparation and extraction that allowed simultaneous measurements utilizing GC. Dried and powdered hemp materials was extracted in solvents by sonication, adopted by centrifugation.
After testing totally different solvents, they discovered acetone gave good outcomes and found a sample-to-volume ratio of 1:17 was very best to maximise extraction effectivity whereas sustaining ample concentrations of terpenes within the samples.
The concentrations of main cannabinoids have been saved at lower than 1.5 mg/mL—excessive sufficient to quantify minor cannabinoids however low sufficient to make sure full decarboxylation through the chromatographic course of.
Quantitative GC separation requires the decision of every terpene and cannabinoid peak. Terpene decision with this methodology was simple, however some cannabinoid peaks overlapped utilizing the standard stationary section of 5 p.c phenyl/95 p.c dimethylpolysiloxane. After further exams, they settled on a stability of the 2.
This less complicated analytic methodology offers quantitatively correct outcomes and is delicate to the low concentrations of terpenes (as little as 1µg/mL) whereas additionally offering correct quantification of the upper cannabinoid concentrations (as much as 1.5mg/mL).
One limitation of this methodology is its want for top temperatures, which result in decarboxylation of cannabinoids, that means it might probably’t be used to measure separate quantities of the acidic and decarboxylated types of cannabinoids (e.g., THCA and THC).