Optimisation of the Green Process of Industrial Hemp—Preparation and Its Extract Characterisation

Abstract

Natural medicines and products are becoming increasingly important in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The most important step in obtaining a natural remedy is the processing of the natural material. This study offers the separation of the industrial hemp plant into fractions by mechanical treatment, which has a significant impact on the selectivity of the obtained fractions. This study also offers a solution to reduce waste by fractionating industrial hemp, focusing on the fraction with the highest cannabinoid content (49.5% of CBD). The study confirmed the anticancer potential of the extract, which prevents further division of WM-266-4 melanoma cells at a concentration of 10−3 mg/mL. However, application of the extract (c = 10−3 mg/mL) to normal human epidermal melanocytes proved to be insignificant, as the metabolic activity of the cells was the same as in the control cell group.