Analytical Report Testing of Cannabis Plant Material

Analytical Report Testing of Cannabis Plant Material

Analytical Report Testing of Cannabis Plant Material

Professor DeBacco

Importance of Cannabis Testing

Testing Needed
Legalization of cannabis for medical and adult use has led to the development and wide spread production of cannabis related products.
However, with this increase in prevalence there also needs to be testing of the products to ensure consumer safety.

Caution with Cannabis
It is important to get cannabis tested and screened for more than just the cannabinoids and terpenes that consumers are typically most interested in.
Clean cannabis is very important and is something consumers should be looking for an requesting if they are not provided with this information.

Analytical Reports
All products that someone is considering consuming should also have a supporting Analytical Report to help ensure product safety.

Categories Provided on an Analytical Report
Microbial Analysis
Heavy Metal Testing
Mycotoxins
Pesticides Testing
Terpene Analysis
Cannabinoids

Research Article
Montoya, Z., Conroy, M., Vanden Heuvel, B. D., Pauli, C. S., & Park, S. H. (2020). Cannabis contaminants limit pharmacological use of cannabidiol. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 11, 1439.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.571832/full

Microbial Analysis
Cannabis is associated with various types of microbes including molds that have been shown to harm immunocompromised patients, as well as bacteria and viruses that have the potential of causing harm to humans.

Heavy Metal Testing
Cannabis plants have been shown to hyperaccumulate and incorporate these heavy metals into tissues throughout the plant and have been previously explored for their ability to bioremediate contaminated soils.
Heavy Metals
Arsenic
Cadmium
Lead
Mercury

Mycotoxins
Aflatoxins and mycotoxins that become especially problematic while drying and storing Cannabis products in humid environments.

Pesticide Testing
While many claim Cannabis is naturally a pest resistant crop there is still abundant use of various types of pesticides to provide protection, including insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators.
Lack of regulation led to the widespread use of hazardous pesticides including bifenazate, myclobutanil, and daminozide, as well as several others intended for ornamental plants and which are not approved for human consumption.
Some pesticides are lipophilic, (soluble in the solvents used for extraction of cannabinoids, including CBD oils) which causes concerns about contamination with pesticides and the potential health risks that would accompany concentrating these pesticides in an extract.

Terpene Analysis
Terpene analysis is beneficial for patients and breeders.
Helps consumers identify the right strain for their desired effect.
Breeders can selectively modulate the terpene ratios of their strains, in order to maximize desired benefits.

Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids have shown potential therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of pain, mood disorders, and inflammatory diseases.

Since the concentration-to-potency of cannabinoids in Cannabis can fluctuate through various stages of plant growth and in different plant strains, it is imperative for patients that Cannabis cultivators ensure cannabinoid identity as well as consistent purity and concentration

Common cannabis analytical testing methods
This provides you with some of the tests that are completed to generate the numbers you see on the analytical report.
Grower View Point: It is good to know what methods your chosen lab uses

Consumer View Point: Knowing the methods used can allow you to compare numbers provided from different labs as there may be some variability based on the analytical equipment used.

Link to Lecture Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gpCdzoqMsAkL1emE_JYLG2G3oV6oOUP_/view?usp=sharing

*Due to the description character limit the full work cited for “Analytical Report Testing of Cannabis Plant Material” can be viewed at… https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y5D0WGWjL6oovIlhqrOaXFCzQddC_04E/view?usp=sharing