Produtos de Cannabis

: quais métodos de extração, separação e purificação são mais utilizados?

Abstract

Cannabis sativa L. is a plant with over than 500 natural compounds, which phytocannabinoids and others secundary metabolites (e.g. terpenoids, alkaloids and flavonoids), being Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol(Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) the main compounds of medical cannabis products. The challenge propoused by Cannabis sativa L. to pharmaceutical industry is to work with this variety of compounds without take apart the repeatability and the quality of the products, selecting the best process to fabricate medical cannabis with desired formulations. This paper want to introduce the main methods used in extraction, separation and purification process, which hydroalcholic extraction (HAE), by your high yield, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), by your high variety of compounds in extract at low temperatures, pressured liquid extraction (PLE), by your enhancement in yield when compared to extractions made in atmospheric pressure, and hot pressing, by your high variety of compounds in extract at high temperatures, solid phase extraction (SPE), by your simplicity and low cost to purify extracts, centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC), by your facility and low cost of operation, and preparatory high performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC), by your high efficiency in isolate compounds. Choosing the methods used in a process to fabricate medical cannabis products is essential forthe increment of production and obtaining products with desired formulations, be them isolated compounds, full spectrum or broad spectrum, to treatment of diseases with pharmacogenomics techniques.