Method Development and Validation for Analysis of Selected Terpenes and Terpenoids in Cannabis and Hemp by GC-MS/MS

Analysis of Terpenes in Cannabis and Hemp

Abstract

         Terpenes are one of the major components present in cannabis and hemp varieties. The therapeutic effect of cannabis on physical health and brain depends on the specific composition of terpenes. The treatment of mood disorders and anxiety disorders was clinically confirmed and necessitated the entourage effect of terpenes coupled with cannabinoids. Besides the quantification of the cannabinoids, the determination of the terpene quantities and proportions in cannabis and hemp plants could be of importance for the plant selection process. In this study, a Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer method has been developed and validated using SRM technique for the quantification of selected 21 terpenes in cannabis plant materials. Samples were prepared by extraction of the plant materials with ethyl acetate followed by sonication and centrifugation. The final sample extract was directly injected into the analytical instrument. The results showed that the linear range was between 0.05 and 5 mg/g with r² values higher than 0.99. The average recoveries for all terpenes in spiked samples were between 92.3 and 105.1%, with the exception of geraniol. The measured repeatability (% relative standard deviation) was acceptable and ranged from 1.6 to 13.2%. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for targeted terpenes were determined to be 0.03 and 0.05 mg/g, respectively. The proposed method is highly selective, reliable, accurate and has been applied to the simultaneous determination of these major terpenes in the cannabis strains developed by our Department of Medical Sciences, in parts of the plant including inflorescences, leaves, stems, and roots for further registration of plant varieties with the Department of Agriculture.