This presentation will include a discussion of the development of an efficient extraction method for the recovery of the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) from industrial hemp (&lt; 0.3% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol; THC). The extraction method developed is based on the use of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). As part of extraction method development the extraction solvent, temperature, number of extraction static cycles, and extraction cycle length were optimized to maximize the recovery of CBD. This unique PLE method includes a dual extraction process in which the hemp undergoes a pre-extraction with water to promote decarboxylation of acidic cannabinoids, namely cannabidiolic acid (CBD-A) to CBD, without significant loss of neutral cannabinoids, followed by PLE using ethanol, which is collected in a separate sample vial. Temperature was the most important parameter controlling extraction efficiency of CBD, with maximum CBD recovery occurring with a water pre-extraction temperature of 140 °C and an ethanol extraction temperature of 100 °C. Similar results were observed for tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC-A) and its neutral form THC, which are chemically similar to CBD-A and CBD, respectively. The optimized extraction method was applied to the extraction of differing industrial hemp samples of varying CBD and CBD-A content yielding similar performance among hemp samples. The resulting extract from the PLE method contains a variety of phytochemicals beyond the target CBD. Therefore, flash chromatography was used to isolate CBD from the other cannabinoids and phytochemicals present in the bulk extract. Isolation of individual cannabinoids, CBD in this application, is important as researchers explore potential therapeutic uses of phytochemicals derived from cannabis to enable differentiation which chemical component(s) result in beneficial outcomes. It is likely that the method presented can be adapted for the extraction and isolation other cannabinoids from hemp.

Development of an efficient method for the extraction and isolation of cannabidiol (CBD) from bulk industrial hemp using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and flash chromatography

2019 Spring National Meeting

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