Comparison of Three Gas Chromatographic Methods—Identification of Terpenes and Terpenoids in Cannabis sativa L.

Abstract

Terpenes and terpenoids content in cannabis plant was already studied in the past with three used methods. Since these works did not compare the content of these substances under the same conditions, we tried to make this comparison exactly. Three different gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GS/MS) methods—hexane-based liquid extraction (Lis), static headspace extraction (HS), and headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME)—were compared to identify volatile compounds in four different cannabis chemotypes—Green fields chemotype, Titan chemotype, Black Domina chemotype, and Neptune chemotype. The main compounds focused on were monoterpenes/monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenes/sesquiterpenoids. For a final evaluation of the comparison of the three methods of analysis, hexane extraction gives comparable results (which is advantageous for quantitative analysis), although the other two methods allowed the identification of more substances. This means that the same method should be used everywhere for the quantitative evaluation of constituents in cannabis.