Quantification of Cannabinoids in Cultivars of Cannabis sp. by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

In the chemical characterization of medically valued Cannabis, the present work has used a gas chromatography (GC) method coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) for identification and quantification of cannabinoids. We have modified a GC–MS method for chemical analysis of cannabinoids extracted from dried flowers of different Cannabis varieties. The method allows for quantification of major cannabinoids, i.e. cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene (CBC), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN) simultaneously. We found that the Cannabis cultivar called Cannabis 5-CW had the highest amount of CBD. We used a modified GC–MS method for chemical profiling of cannabinoids extracted from a variety of Cannabis samples, especially the high CBD, CBC, THC, CBG and CBN-producing ones. The method was successfully applied for identification and quantification of cannabinoids in a short time with better separation resolution among the reported methods.