New Insights for the Comprehensive Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Cannabis sativa L.

Federica Pellati, Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy (federica.pellati@unimore.it)

Cannabis sativa L., a dioecious plant belonging to Cannabaceae family, is known to contain many bioactive compounds. The most representative ones are cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes. Among cannabinoids, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) is responsible for Cannabis psychoactive effects. Other main cannabinoids include tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). For what concerns other phenolic compounds, several flavonoids have been identified in C. sativa, belonging mainly to flavones and dihydrostilbenoids. In particular, cannflavin A and B represent hemp-specific methylated isoprenoid flavones. Terpenes represent the largest group of Cannabis components and they are responsible for its aromatic properties.

Some biological activities of cannabinoids are known to be enhanced by the presence of other secondary metabolites in C. sativa extracts, such as in the case of sleeping disorders and anxiety. This effect has been attributed to a strict interaction between cannabinoids and terpenes, resulting in a synergistic action. Also flavonoids may modulate the pharmacokinetics of some cannabinoids, by means of the inhibition of hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes.

In this view, the development and application of advanced analytical methods is highly recommended to guarantee a rational use of Cannabis for therapeutic purposes. In the light of all the above, the present study was aimed at the multi-component analysis of the bioactive compounds present in C. sativa female inflorescences by means of innovative chromatographic methods. In particular, the profiling of cannabinoids in ethanolic extracts obtained by dynamic maceration was carried out by means of a HPLC-UV/DAD, ESI-MS and MS² method, together with a selective extraction protocol, by taking advantage of the innovative fused-core technology of the stationary phase. A new RP-HPLC-UV/DAD, ESI-MS and MS² method, together with an optimized extraction procedure, was developed as well and applied for the determination of phenolics (including cannflavin A, cannflavin B and canniprene). The study on Cannabis volatile compounds was performed by developing a new method based on HS-SPME coupled with GC-MS and GC-FID.

The methods described above were applied to recreational-type and drug-type samples, together with fibre-type Cannabis samples; the first ones, being rich in psychoactive Δ⁹-THC, are used for recreational or medicinal  purposes, while the second ones, rich in CBD or related compounds and almost devoid of Δ⁹-THC, are used for textile or food purposes. These procedures were found to be suitable for the comprehensive chemical analysis C. sativa inflorescences in order to ensure their quality, efficacy and safety.

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Abstract Reference & Short Personal Biography of Presenting Author

Dr. Federica Pellati graduated cum laude in 2000 in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. In 2004 she got a PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. Then she had a post-doctoral fellowship position in Medicinal Chemistry and in 2006 she got a position of Assistant Professor in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. In 2014, she got the Italian Professorship Qualification (ASN 2012) as an Associate Professor in Medicinal Chemistry.

The research activity of Dr. Pellati is focused on the development of innovative techniques for the extraction and analysis of bioactive natural products, and on the isolation of new bioactive compounds of natural origin. She has a number of national and international research collaborations and she participates to peer-reviewed research projects.

Dr. Pellati is the author of more than 70 papers in ISI indexed international journals, n. 3 book chapters, n. 4 proceedings in international journals, n. 2 patents and more than 90 congress communications (oral and poster).

She is an associated editor, an editorial board member and a reviewer for international Journals in the area of Pharmaceutical, Plant and Food Analysis.

Abstract Reference

V. Brighenti, F. Pellati, M. Steinbach, D. Maran, S. Benvenuti, Development of a new extraction technique and HPLC method for the analysis of non-psychoactive cannabinoids in fibre-type Cannabis sativa L. (hemp), J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal., 143 (2017) 228-236.

F. Pellati, V. Borgonetti, V. Brighenti, M. Biagi, S. Benvenuti, L. Corsi, Cannabis sativa L. and nonpsychoactive cannabinoids: their chemistry and role against oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer, BioMed Res. Int., 2018 (2018) 1-15.

F. Pellati, V. Brighenti, J. Sperlea, L. Marchetti, D. Bertelli, S. Benvenuti, New methods for the comprehensive analysis of bioactive compounds in Cannabis sativa L. (hemp), Molecules, 23 (2019) article number 2639.

L. Corsi, F. Pellati, V. Brighenti, N. Plessi, S. Benvenuti, Chemical composition and in vitro neuroprotective activity of fibre-type Cannabis sativa L. (Hemp), Curr. Bioact. Compd., 15 (2019) 201-210.