*Article* **Fast Detection of 10 Cannabinoids by RP-HPLC-UV Method in** *Cannabis sativa* **L.**

#### **Mara Mandrioli 1, Matilde Tura 1, Stefano Scotti 2 and Tullia Gallina Toschi 1,\***

1 Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 40, 40127 Bologna, Italy; mara.mandrioli@unibo.it (M.M.); matilde.tura2@unibo.it (M.T.)


Academic Editor: Marcello Locatelli Received: 10 May 2019; Accepted: 31 May 2019; Published: 4 June 2019

**Abstract:** Cannabis has regained much attention as a result of updated legislation authorizing many di fferent uses and can be classified on the basis of the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychotropic substance for which there are legal limitations in many countries. For this purpose, accurate qualitative and quantitative determination is essential. The relationship between THC and cannabidiol (CBD) is also significant as the latter substance is endowed with many specific and non-psychoactive proprieties. For these reasons, it becomes increasingly important and urgen<sup>t</sup> to utilize fast, easy, validated, and harmonized procedures for determination of cannabinoids. The procedure described herein allows rapid determination of 10 cannabinoids from the inflorescences of *Cannabis sativa* L. by extraction with organic solvents. Separation and subsequent detection are by RP-HPLC-UV. Quantification is performed by an external standard method through the construction of calibration curves using pure standard chromatographic reference compounds. The main cannabinoids dosed (g/100 g) in actual samples were cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), CBD, and Δ9-THC (Sample L11 CBDA 0.88 ± 0.04, CBD 0.48 ± 0.02, Δ9-THC 0.06 ± 0.00; Sample L5 CBDA 0.93 ± 0.06, CBD 0.45 ± 0.03, Δ9-THC 0.06 ± 0.00). The present validated RP-HPLC-UV method allows determination of the main cannabinoids in *Cannabis sativa* L. inflorescences and appropriate legal classification as hemp or drug-type.

**Keywords:** cannabinoids; *Cannabis sativa* L.; HPLC; validation
