Kanabinoidų įvertinimas dujų chromatografijos metodu Lietuvoje auginamų sėjamųjų kanapių (Cannabis sativa L.) žolėje ; Evaluation of cannabinoid content by gas chromatography in hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) grass grown in Lithuania

Abstract

The object of the research is industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), which belongs to the Cannabaceae family. Hemp contains molecular components named cannabinoids, two of which have special qualities. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which affects the human psyche, and Cannabidiol (CBD), which works to reduce its effects. Industrial hemp is characterized by its low amount of THC and high amount of CBD. The European Union allows for the cultivation of varieties of industrial hemp with a low (no more than 0,2 %) content of tetrahydrocannabinol. Seven hemp varieties collected from different regions of Lithuania were studied in this research. The aim of this research is to analyze the quantitative composition of cannabinoids found in the aerial parts of varieties of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) grown in Lithuania. To reach the aim, the following objectives were formulated: to collect the aerial parts of the industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), to dry them, and to prepare samples for experimental analysis; using the gas chromatography method, to identify and qualitatively evaluate the variations in cannabinoid content in samples of industrial hemp collected from various regions of Lithuania; to determine the distribution of the quantity of these compounds in industrial hemp samples of different variety. The results of the research: using the gas chromatography method, based on retention time, three main cannabinoids were identified: cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabigerol (CBD – 10.97 min., THC – 20.46 min., CBG – 20.70 min.). The overall distribution of these main cannabinoids, which were collected from samples of industrial hemp grass from different regions of Lithuania, varied from 51.81µg/ml to 734.45 µg/ml. The highest quantities of cannabidiol and cannabigerol were found in samples of the "Futura 75" variety of grass, which were collected from the village of Viešintai, district of Anykščiai, 678.31 ± 46.83µg/mland 36.87 ± 8.04 µg/mlrespectively. The lowest amount of cannabidiol was found in a sample of the "Felina 32" variety of grass (4.21 ± 4.78 µg/ml), which was harvested from the village of Upytė, district of Panevėžys. The lowest amount of cannabigerol was found to be in samples of the "Virtus Rugo" variety of grass (4.58 ± 2.37 µg/ml). The highest amount of tetrahydrocannabinol was found in female samples of industrial hemp collected from the village of Kadrėnai, district of Kupiškis, - 24.76 ± 4.47µg/ml, while the lowest quantity of this compound was found in a sample of the "Felina 32" – 0.43± 0.12 µg/ml