qualitative and quantitative HPTLC densitometry method for the analysis of cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa L

• Published in: Phytochemical analysis Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 421 - 426
• Main Authors: Fischedick, Justin T, Glas, Ronald, Hazekamp, Arno, Verpoorte, Rob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley '' Sons, Ltd 01.09.2009; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
• Subjects: analysis; Cannabinoids; Cannabinoids - analysis; Cannabinoids - chemistry; Cannabis; Cannabis - chemistry; Cannabis - classification; Cannabis sativa; chemical analysis; chemistry; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Chromatography, Thin Layer - methods; classification; densitometry; Densitometry - methods; Dronabinol; Dronabinol - analysis; Dronabinol - chemistry; Flowers; Flowers - chemistry; high-performance thin-layer chromatography; HPLC; HPTLC; Linear Models; medicinal plants; methods; Molecular Structure; phytochemicals; qualitative analysis; quantitative analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Species Specificity; tetrahydrocannabinol; thin layer chromatography; Δ9-THC
• ISSN: 0958-0344; 1099-1565; 1099-1565
• DOI: 10.1002/pca.1143

Introduction - Cannabis and cannabinoid based medicines are currently under serious investigation for legitimate development as medicinal agents, necessitating new low-cost, high-throughput analytical methods for quality control.Objective - The goal of this study was to develop and validate, according to ICH guidelines, a simple rapid HPTLC method for the quantification of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) and qualitative analysis of other main neutral cannabinoids found in cannabis.Methodology - The method was developed and validated with the use of pure cannabinoid reference standards and two medicinal cannabis cultivars. Accuracy was determined by comparing results obtained from the HTPLC method with those obtained from a validated HPLC method. Results - Δ⁹-THC gives linear calibration curves in the range of 50-500 ng at 206 nm with a linear regression of y = 11.858x + 125.99 and r² = 0.9968.Conclusion - Results have shown that the HPTLC method is reproducible and accurate for the quantification of Δ⁹-THC in cannabis. The method is also useful for the qualitative screening of the main neutral cannabinoids found in cannabis cultivars. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley '' Sons, Ltd.