A review on the recent advances in HPLC, UHPLC and UPLC analyses of naturally occurring cannabinoids (2010-2019)

Introduction: Organic molecules that bind to cannabinoid receptors are called cannabinoids, and they have similar pharmacological properties like the plant, Cannabis sativa L. Hyphenated liquid chromatography (LC), incorporating high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC, also known as ultra high performance liquid chromatography, UHPLC), usually coupled to a UV, UV-PDA or MS detector, has become a popular analytical tool for the analysis of naturally occurring cannabinoids in various matrices. Objective: To review literature on the use of various LC-based analytical methods for the analysis of naturally occurring cannabinoids published since 2010. Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was performed utilizing several databases, like Web of Knowledge, PubMed and Google Scholar, and other relevant published materials including published books. The keywords used, in various combinations, with cannabinoids being present in all combinations, in the search were Cannabis, hemp, cannabinoids, Cannabis sativa, marijuana, analysis, HPLC, UHPLC, UPLC, quantitative, qualitative and quality control. Results: Since 2010, several LC methods for the analysis of naturally occurring cannabinoids have been reported. While simple HPLC-UV or HPLC-UV-PDA-based methods were common in cannabinoids analysis, HPLC-MS, HPLC-MS/MS, UPLC (or UHPLC)-UV-PDA, UPLC (or UHPLC)-MS and UPLC (or UHPLC)-MS/MS, were also used frequently. Applications of mathematical and computational models for optimization of different protocols were observed, and pre-analyses included various environmentally friendly extraction protocols. Conclusions: LC-based analysis of naturally occurring cannabinoids has dominated the cannabinoids analysis during the last ten years, and UPLC and UHPLC methods have been shown to be superior to conventional HPLC methods

Lymphocyte subsets in human immunodeficiency virus-unexposed Brazilian individuals from birth to adulthood

Ethnic origin, genetics, gender and environmental factors have been shown to influence some immunologic indices, so that development of reference values for populations of different backgrounds may be necessary. We have determined the distribution of lymphocyte subsets in healthy Brazilian individuals from birth to adulthood. Lymphocyte subsets were determined using four-colour cytometry in a cross-sectional study of 463 human immunodeficiency virus-unexposed children and adults from birth through 49 years of age. Lymphocyte subsets varied according to age, as previously observed in other studies. However, total CD4+ T cell numbers were lower than what was described in the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group P1009 (PACTG P1009), which assessed an American population of predominantly African and Hispanic backgrounds until the 12-18 year age range, when values were comparable. Naïve percentages and absolute values of CD8+ T cells, as assessed by CD45RA expression, were also lower than the PACTG P1009 data for all analysed age ranges. CD38 expression on both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was lower than the PACTG P1009 values, with a widening gap between the two studies at older age ranges. Different patterns of cell differentiation seem to occur in different settings and may have characteristic expression within each population.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de MedicinaCentro Assistencial Cruz de MaltaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP, Depto. de MedicinaUNIFESP, Depto. de PediatriaSciEL