2. Academic Validation
  3. HPLC-UV-HRMS analysis of cannabigerovarin and cannabigerobutol, the two impurities of cannabigerol extracted from hemp

HPLC-UV-HRMS analysis of cannabigerovarin and cannabigerobutol, the two impurities of cannabigerol extracted from hemp

  • J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2021 Sep 5:203:114215. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114215.
Francesco Tolomeo 1,  Fabiana Russo 2,  Maria Angela Vandelli 3,  Giuseppe Biagini 4,  Anna Laura Capriotti 5,  Aldo Laganà 6,  Luigi Carbone 1,  Giuseppe Gigli 1,  Giuseppe Cannazza 7,  Cinzia Citti 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Nanotechnology - CNR NANOTEC, Campus Ecotekne, Via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy.
  • 2 Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy; Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125, Modena, Italy.
  • 3 Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy.
  • 4 Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125, Modena, Italy.
  • 5 Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
  • 6 Institute of Nanotechnology - CNR NANOTEC, Campus Ecotekne, Via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy; Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
  • 7 Institute of Nanotechnology - CNR NANOTEC, Campus Ecotekne, Via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy; Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.cannazza@unimore.it.
  • 8 Institute of Nanotechnology - CNR NANOTEC, Campus Ecotekne, Via Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy; Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 103, 41125, Modena, Italy. Electronic address: cinzia.citti@unimore.it.
PMID: 34153935 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114215
Abstract

A sensitive and straightforward HPLC-UV method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of the two main impurities in "pure" commercial cannabigerol (CBG) samples. The identification of such impurities, namely cannabigerovarin (CBGV) and cannabigerobutol (CBGB), the propyl and butyl homologs of CBG, respectively, was accomplished employing the high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) technique, and subsequently confirmed by comparison with the same compounds obtained by chemical synthesis. Complete spectroscopic characterization (NMR, FT-IR, UV, and HRMS) of both impurities is reported in the present work. The method was validated in terms of linearity, which was assessed in the range 0.01-1.00 μg/mL, sensitivity, selectivity, intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision, and short-term stability, which all satisfied the acceptance criteria of the ICH guidelines. Application of the method to the analysis of four commercial CBG samples highlighted a certain variability in the impurity profile that might be ascribed to the hemp variety of the starting plant material. With these new analytical standards in hand, it would be interesting to investigate their concentrations in different hemp varieties and expand the scope of a phytocannabinomics approach for a comprehensive profiling of this remarkable class of natural compounds.

Keywords

Cannabigerobutol; Cannabigerol; Cannabigerovarin; HPLC-UV; High-resolution mass spectrometry; Phytocannabinoid synthesis.

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