Analysis of Cannabidiol, Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, and Their Acids in CBD Oil/Hemp Oil Products

Abstract

Hemp products are readily available and are aggressively marketed for their health and medicinal benefits. Most consumers of these products are interested because of cannabidiol (CBD), which has taken the natural products industry by storm. The CBD and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) concentrations in these products are often absent, and even where labeled, the accuracy of the label amounts is often questionable. In order to gain a better understanding of the CBD content, fifty hemp products were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for CBD, Δ⁹-THC, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ⁹-THCAA), and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). Δ⁹-THCAA and CBDA are the natural precursors of Δ⁹-THC and CBD in the plant material. Decarboxylation to Δ⁹-THC and CBD is essential to get the total benefit of the neutral cannabinoids. Therefore, analysis for the neutral and acid cannabinoids is important to get a complete picture of the chemical profile of the products. The GC-MS method used for the analysis of these products was developed and validated. A 10-m × 0.18-mm DB-1 (0.4 μ film) column was used for the analysis. The majority of the hemp products were oils, one of the products was hemp butter, one was a concentrated hemp powder capsule, and another was a hemp extract capsule. Most of the products contained less than 0.1% CBD and less than 0.01% Δ⁹-THC. Three products contained 0.1–1% CBD, and 2 products contained 0.1–0.9% Δ⁹-THC. All of the samples appeared to be decarboxylated since the CBDA and Δ⁹-THCAA results were less than 0.001%. The developed method is simple, sensitive, and reproducible for the detection of Δ⁹-THC, Δ⁹-THCAA, CBD, and CBDA in CBD oil/hemp products.