Tea Prepared from Dried Cannabis: What Do We Drink?

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science

Background:

• Dried Cannabis is commonly used for preparing aqueous infusions, often referred to as "tea."
• Understanding the phytochemical profile of Cannabis infusions is crucial for safety and efficacy assessments.
• Cannabis contains numerous bioactive compounds, including phytocannabinoids and flavonoids, with varying properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively characterize the phytochemical composition of Cannabis "tea" prepared using common methods.
• To quantify the transfer rate of major phytocannabinoids and flavonoids from dried Cannabis into aqueous infusions.
• To investigate the impact of adding cream during steeping on cannabinoid transfer.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) for precise compound identification and quantification.
• Analyzed three distinct Cannabis cultivars to assess cultivar-dependent variations in infusion composition.
• Compared cannabinoid and flavonoid transfer rates in aqueous infusions with and without added cream.

Main Results:

• Phytocannabinoid acids generally exhibited higher transfer rates into the infusion compared to their neutral counterparts.
• The transfer of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) into aqueous infusions ranged from 0.4-1.9% of the content in the dried Cannabis.
• Addition of cream during steeping significantly increased neutral phytocannabinoid transfer, with Δ9-THC reaching 53-64%.

Conclusions:

• Standard Cannabis tea preparation results in limited transfer of key cannabinoids like Δ9-THC.
• Incorporating cream into Cannabis tea significantly enhances the bioavailability of Δ9-THC.
• Consumption of Cannabis tea prepared with cream, even from low-THC hemp, may lead to exceeding the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD) for Δ9-THC.