Chemical transformation of cannabidiol into psychotropic cannabinoids under acidic reaction conditions: Identifification of transformed products by GC-MS
Recently, cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major components of the Cannabis species, has been a focus in the cannabis industry due to its various pharmacological effects. Interestingly, CBD can be converted into several psychoactive cannabinoids, such as 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (D9-THC) and its structural isomers, under acidic reaction conditions. In this study, chemical transformation of CBD in ethanol solution was conducted with variation in pH at 2.0, 3.5, and 5.0 by addition of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl). These resulting solutions were derivatized with trimethylsilyl (TMS) reagent and analyzed using GC/MS-scan mode. Time profiles of CBD degradation and transformation of products were examined according to variations in pH and temperature.