Determination of volatile aroma compounds in fresh Origanum vulgare and Hyssopus officinalis: Headspace GC/FID/MS profile

Origanum vulgare and Hyssopus officinalis are important aromatic and medicinal plants. The chemical composition of the volatile aroma compounds was defined in the fresh aerial part of Origanum vulgare (f-O) and Hyssopus officinalis (f-H), collected in Valbona (Albania). The analysis were made by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC/FID/MS) on HP5-ms column and equipped with automated headspace (HS) system. 0,3 g fresh plant material (homogenized samples from flower, leaf and stem) was put in sealed vials, heated (80 ͦC) and the gas phase was investigated. Total of 21 individual volatile aroma compounds were identified in f-O sample, 14 monoterpenes (78.35%) and 7 sesquiterpenes (3.03%). Dominant components were monoterpene hydrocarbons: sabinene (55.05%), trans-β-ocimene (5.19%) and γ-terpinene (4.05%), followed by cis-sabinene hydrate, α-terpinene and β-pinene. In f-H sample were identified 16 individual volatile aroma components, 11 monoterpenes (84.51%) and 5 sesquiterpenes (0.29%). The major components were monoterpene hydrocarbons: β-pinene (48.66%) and cispinocamphone (29.77%), followed by α-pinene and α-thujen

Analytical Techniques for Phytocannabinoid Profiling of Cannabis and Cannabis-Based Products—A Comprehensive Review

Cannabis is gaining increasing attention due to the high pharmacological potential and updated legislation authorizing multiple uses. The development of time- and cost-efficient analytical methods is of crucial importance for phytocannabinoid profiling. This review aims to capture the versatility of analytical methods for phytocannabinoid profiling of cannabis and cannabis-based products in the past four decades (1980–2021). The thorough overview of more than 220 scientific papers reporting different analytical techniques for phytocannabinoid profiling points out their respective advantages and drawbacks in terms of their complexity, duration, selectivity, sensitivity and robustness for their specific application, along with the most widely used sample preparation strategies. In particular, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, are presented and discussed. Acquired knowledge of phytocannabinoid profile became extremely relevant and further enhanced chemotaxonomic classification, cultivation set-ups examination, association of medical and adverse health effects with potency and/or interplay of certain phytocannabinoids and other active constituents, quality control (QC), and stability studies, as well as development and harmonization of global quality standards. Further improvement in phytocannabinoid profiling should be focused on untargeted analysis using orthogonal analytical methods, which, joined with cheminformatics approaches for compound identification and MSLs, would lead to the identification of a multitude of new phytocannabinoids

Testing the direct compaction properties of ground plant material to make a solid pharmaceutical form from mountain tea

Sideritis scardica and Sideritis raeseri (mountain tea) are widely utilized in Mediterranean traditional medicine in the form of either a decoction or infusion. The aim of this study is preparation of a solid pharmaceutical form from mountain tea. Testing the direct compaction properties of aerial part plant material (homogenized samples from flower, leaf and stem) the direct compaction properties of ground plant material above ground tea using a roller compactor, without the addition of solvents and other excipients as a binder, showed very weak compaction properties, and it was impossible to obtain good quality of ribbon and granules, primarily due to the uneven size of the crushed mass and hence the problematic flow. This is due to the specific morphological structure and the presence of a large number of mechanical fibers in the form of trichomes in mountain tea