Digital Technologies Applied to Control the One-Step Process of Cannabis Olive Oil Preparations

Abstract

The reproducibility of an extemporaneous preparation is an essential condition for guaranteeing the quality, efficacy, and safety of the medicinal product. This study aimed to develop a controlled one-step process for cannabis olive oil preparations by applying digital technologies. For this purpose, the chemical profile of cannabinoid contents in oil extracts of Bedrocan, FM2, and Pedanios varieties obtained with the already in use method, proposed by the Italian Society of Compounding Pharmacists (SIFAP), was compared with two new methods, specifically the Tolotto Gear® extraction method (TGE) and the Tolotto Gear® extraction method preceded by a pre-extraction procedure (TGE-PE). HPLC analyses showed that the concentration of THC using cannabis flos with a high THC content (over 20% w/w) was always higher than 21 mg/mL for the Bedrocan variety and close to 20 mg/mL for the Pedanios variety when applying TGE, while with TGE-PE, the THC concentration was higher than 23 mg/mL for the Bedrocan variety. For the FM2 variety, the amounts of THC and CBD in the oil formulations obtained using TGE were higher than 7 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL, respectively, and for TGE-PE, the concentrations of THC and CBD were higher than 7 mg/mL and 12 mg/mL, respectively. GC-MS analyses were performed to define the terpene contents in the oil extracts. The samples of Bedrocan flos extracted with TGE-PE displayed a distinctive profile, highly rich in terpenes and devoid of oxidized volatile products. Thus, TGE and TGE-PE allowed performing a quantitative extraction of cannabinoids and increasing the total mono-di-tri terpenes and sesquiterpene concentrations. The methods were repeatable and applicable to any quantity of raw material, preserving the phytocomplex of the plant.

Progress in the analysis of phytocannabinoids by HPLC and UPLC (or UHPLC) during 2020–2023

“…[1][2][3][4] There are several studies on the HPLC-based analysis of cannabis oil or CBD (5)-rich oil available in the literature for the period covered in this article. 44,97,[102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112] However, the analysis of cannabis oil using UHPL or UPLC has been limited to a few studies reported in the literature (Table 2).…”

“…A simple UV-based detection was successful in identifying CBD (5), CBDA (6), Δ 9 -THC ( 14), and Δ 9 -THCA (15) in pharmaceutical grade cannabis oil, where Poroshell 120 EC-C 18 column (50 Â 3 mm, 2.7 μm) column was used with gradient elution comprising 0.1% HCOOH in water and 0.05% HCOOH in MeOH and a run time of only 11 min. 102 While the use of particle sizes much smaller than the usual particle size of 5 μm in analytical HPLC has increased in recent years, the use of columns of various lengths with 5 μm particle size appears to be quite common in cannabis oil analysis [103][104][105][106]108 (Table 2). In cannabis oil analysis, the most commonly used detector has been a UV detector including a PDA, but the use of MS detector 104 has also been observed.…”

“…Since the publication of the review article 2 on the application of HPLC and UPLC (or UHPLC) methods in the analysis of phytocannabinoids covering the period of 2010–2019, several publications have appeared in the literature on this topic 12–185 . All these publications highlight the importance of HPLC and UPLC (or UHPLC) techniques as well as showcase remarkable advancements in sensitivity and versatility associated with these techniques in relation to phytocannabinoid analysis 12 .…”

“…A large volume of HPLC and UPLC (or UHPLC) methods that have been reported for the analysis of cannabinoids in C. sativa L. plant samples 13–94 and cannabis consumer products, for example, hashish, marijuana, and cannabis oils, 95–137 since 2020 are presented in Tables 1 and 2 and discussed in the following subsections.…”

“…These consumer products include smoking products, for example, hashish and marijuana, cannabidiol oil, cannabis oil, cannabis olive oil, infusions and liquids, tinctures, cannabis food products, and cannabis‐containing cosmeceuticals (Table 2). 95–137 In the HPLC and UPLC (or UHPLC) methods, the use of PDA or MS detection technologies has become routine for the analysis of these consumer products 2 . The use of HPLC as opposed to UPLC (or UHPLC) has remained the method of choice during 2020–2023, but the use of UPLC (or UHPLC) has increased considerably over the last few years (Table 2).…”