Cannabinoids in commercial hemp seed oil and decarboxylation kinetics of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).

Hemp seed oil from Cannabis sativa L. is a very rich natural source of important nutrients, not only polyunsaturated fatty acids and proteins, but also terpenes and cannabinoids, which contribute to the overall beneficial effects of the oil.  it is important to have an analytical method for the determination of these components in commercial samples. Equally important is to assess the safety of the product in terms of both non welcome contaminants and little to no amount of any psychoactive cannabinoid present therein, 0.3% or less. The selective and rapid HPLC-UV method for the qualitative and quantitative determination of the main cannabinoids is highly sensitive.

The main Cannabinoids are:  

cannabidiolic acid (CBDA),

tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA),

cannabidiol (CBD),

tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),

 cannabinol (CBN),

cannabigerol (CBG)

cannabidivarin (CBDV), present in 13 commercial hemp seed oils.

Decomposition of cannabinoid acids generally occurs with light, air and heat known as decarboxylation.  

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