Global market linked to the exploitation of Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) will reach 12 billion dollars in 2025. The most interesting bioactive molecules contained within this plant species are certainly the cannabinoids that are well known all over the world for their different biological activities as they emulate the effects of the biological endocannabinoid system, responsible for the management of various vital function such as pain, sleep and hunger. Another fundamental pillar of the plant extracts market is circular economy, meanings waste biomass valorization, coupled with green extraction techniques based on reduction of traditional solvents, potentially dangerous for both humans and environment. In this scenario Exenia Group s.r.l. fits perfectly thanks to its experience, developed in almost 30 years, focus on green extraction with supercritical CO2 applied to waste material from plant origin. In the last years this skills has been applied in order to valorize wastes from the hemp industry. These wastes are a mixture of leaves, flowers and lignified parts, which constitute the processing waste after the harvest of the inflorescences, however they still contain important bioactive compounds such as cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. This extraction methodology has recently established itself as the top technology in the extraction of cannabinoids from hemp as it uses relatively low temperature, does not use dangerous solvents such as hexane and toluene, and the whole process is conducted in an oxygen-free environment limiting oxidative phenomena, which can affect the quality of chemical compounds. From our experiences, also carried out thanks to a solid company network, we have developed an extraction methodology that applies the best solubility conditions of different cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG and THC by modulating the temperature and pressure of the CO2 used during the process. In this work Exenia group s.r.l., in collaboration with the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, was responsible for optimizing decarboxilation process, cannabinoids extraction from agro-industrial hemp wastes, characterizing the extract obtained in supercritical CO2 and testing the biological activities in vitro on three different tumor cell lines.

Extraction of bioactive cannabinoids from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) using supercritical CO2 as a solvent

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