Identification and Determination of Cannabinoids in both Commercially Available and Cannabis Oils Stored Long Term

Abstract

Among cannabinoids (CNs) in two commercially available and long-term stored cannabis oils obtained from the seeds of Cannabis sativa L. in Japan, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), canabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabichromene were identified and determined using high-performance thin-layer chromatography and capillary gas chromatography-mass speectrometry after partitioning extraction with n-hexane/acetonitrile. CNs were determined in two commercially available cannabis oils, designated “Hemp oil” (THC, 16.3 μg/g and CBN, 5.9 μg/g) and “Taima-yu” (CBD, 26.1 μg/g). The concentration of CBD in a cannabis oil that had been stored for 20 years was 107 ± 4 μg/g. However, no other CNs including THC were detected in the oil. The CBD content in the original oil was estimated to be about 130 μg/g from the determination values of the two periods. These results suggest that cannabis oils generally contain CNs to some extent.