Does pollination alter the cannabinoid composition and yield of extracts from hemp (Cannabis sativa L. cv. Finola) flowers?

Abstract

This study was undertaken to compare cannabinoid levels and yields in floral extracts from unpollinated and artificially pollinated industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. cv. Finola) flowers grown under identical growth chamber conditions. Of the 16 cannabinoids analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the levels of 10, cannabichromene (CBC), cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabinol (CBN) cannabinolic acid (CBNA), ∆8-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆8-THC), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) and tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA) were near or below the limit of quantification. Total ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), was present at concentrations below the legal limit of 0.3% (w/w). The level of cannabidiol (CBD) in extracts from pollinated flowers was the same as that from unpollinated flowers, but cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA) levels were not. This suggested that, although pollination changes the pool sizes of the precursors in the metabolic pathway leading to CBD production, cannabinoid levels in floral extracts from the Finola cultivar, were reduced but not eliminated, by pollination of hemp flowers compared with levels in floral extracts from unpollinated flowers.