Analysis of Cannabinoids in Medicinal Cannabis Products: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Cannabis plant has been known for its medicinal use for centuries. Recent research into its pharmacology has revealed medicinal properties, promoting the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes and consequently the growth in the production of medicinal cannabis-based products. The potency of cannabinoids in products for therapeutic purposes is essential to assess their effects on health. Medicinal cannabis products, based on extracts from the cannabis plant, however, lack standardization in both preparation and quality control. In this review, chromatographic methods and alternative strategies are described for qualitative and quantitative analysis of cannabinoids in cannabis-based products. The direct application of portable spectroscopic techniques on cannabis farms for monitoring plant growth is also reported. Finally, a special section has been dedicated to the use of chemometric tools that have been employed in the field of cannabis including methods utilizing chemometric tools such as exploratory analysis, multivariate classification, and calibration.