Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass
In recent years, cannabis has been proposed and promoted not only as a medicine for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, but also as an industrial crop for different purposes. Being an agricultural product, cannabis inflorescences may be contaminated by environmental pathogens at high concentrat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7710 |
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| author | Chandrani G. Majumdar Mahmoud A. ElSohly Elsayed A. Ibrahim Mostafa A. Elhendawy Donald Stanford Suman Chandra Amira S. Wanas Mohamed M. Radwan |
| author_facet | Chandrani G. Majumdar Mahmoud A. ElSohly Elsayed A. Ibrahim Mostafa A. Elhendawy Donald Stanford Suman Chandra Amira S. Wanas Mohamed M. Radwan |
| author_sort | Chandrani G. Majumdar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, cannabis has been proposed and promoted not only as a medicine for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, but also as an industrial crop for different purposes. Being an agricultural product, cannabis inflorescences may be contaminated by environmental pathogens at high concentrations, which might cause health problems if not controlled. Therefore, limits have to be placed on the levels of aerobic bacteria as well as yeast and mold. To ensure the safety of cannabis plant material and related products, a remediation process has to be put in place. Gamma irradiation is a sterilization process mainly used for pharmaceuticals, foods, cosmetics, agricultural, and herbal products including cannabis plant material. This study was designed to determine the effect of irradiation on the microbial count as well as on the chemical and physical profiles of the cannabis biomass, particularly cannabinoids, terpenes, and moisture content. The full cannabinoid profile was measured by GC/FID and HPLC analysis, while terpene profile and moisture content were determined using GC/MS and Loss on Drying (LoD) methods, respectively. Analyses were conducted on the samples before and after gamma irradiation. The results showed that the minimum and maximum doses were 15 and 20.8 KiloGray (KGY), respectively. Total Aerobic Microbial Count (TAMC) and Total Yeast and Mold Count (TYMC) were determined. The study showed that irradiation has no effect on the cannabinoids and little effect on terpenes and moisture content, but it did result in the virtual sterilization of the plant material, as evidenced by the low levels of bacterial and fungal colony-forming units (CFUs) < 10 after gamma irradiation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:46:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c835abf93ade4e94b4f9e49429d36b92 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:46:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-c835abf93ade4e94b4f9e49429d36b922023-12-08T15:22:06ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-11-012823771010.3390/molecules28237710Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis BiomassChandrani G. Majumdar0Mahmoud A. ElSohly1Elsayed A. Ibrahim2Mostafa A. Elhendawy3Donald Stanford4Suman Chandra5Amira S. Wanas6Mohamed M. Radwan7National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USANational Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USAIn recent years, cannabis has been proposed and promoted not only as a medicine for the treatment of a variety of illnesses, but also as an industrial crop for different purposes. Being an agricultural product, cannabis inflorescences may be contaminated by environmental pathogens at high concentrations, which might cause health problems if not controlled. Therefore, limits have to be placed on the levels of aerobic bacteria as well as yeast and mold. To ensure the safety of cannabis plant material and related products, a remediation process has to be put in place. Gamma irradiation is a sterilization process mainly used for pharmaceuticals, foods, cosmetics, agricultural, and herbal products including cannabis plant material. This study was designed to determine the effect of irradiation on the microbial count as well as on the chemical and physical profiles of the cannabis biomass, particularly cannabinoids, terpenes, and moisture content. The full cannabinoid profile was measured by GC/FID and HPLC analysis, while terpene profile and moisture content were determined using GC/MS and Loss on Drying (LoD) methods, respectively. Analyses were conducted on the samples before and after gamma irradiation. The results showed that the minimum and maximum doses were 15 and 20.8 KiloGray (KGY), respectively. Total Aerobic Microbial Count (TAMC) and Total Yeast and Mold Count (TYMC) were determined. The study showed that irradiation has no effect on the cannabinoids and little effect on terpenes and moisture content, but it did result in the virtual sterilization of the plant material, as evidenced by the low levels of bacterial and fungal colony-forming units (CFUs) < 10 after gamma irradiation.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7710cannabisgamma irradiationcannabinoidsterpenesmoisture content |
| spellingShingle | Chandrani G. Majumdar Mahmoud A. ElSohly Elsayed A. Ibrahim Mostafa A. Elhendawy Donald Stanford Suman Chandra Amira S. Wanas Mohamed M. Radwan Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass Molecules cannabis gamma irradiation cannabinoids terpenes moisture content |
| title | Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass |
| title_full | Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass |
| title_short | Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Cannabinoid, Terpene, and Moisture Content of Cannabis Biomass |
| title_sort | effect of gamma irradiation on cannabinoid terpene and moisture content of cannabis biomass |
| topic | cannabis gamma irradiation cannabinoids terpenes moisture content |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7710 |
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