Cannabinoids From Trema micranthum (L.) Blume (Cannabaceae): A Cannabinoid Profiling System

Trema micranthum (L.) Blume is a species from the Cannabaceae botanical family, present all over the tropics. A recent study conducted by our group identified the presence of cannabidiol (CBD), Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiolic acid, and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A in T. micranthum extracts. Their presence in the plant's fruit, inflorescence, and leaf extracts was detected and quantified. T. micranthum has been identified as a potential new source of cannabinoids such as CBD. The present work focuses on a new Cannabinoid Profiling System (CPS) to present a wide view of cannabinoid chemical composition with several compassionate and modern mass spectrometry (MS) tools. Extracts from fruits, leaves, and inflorescences were obtained using a methanol/hexane (9:1, v/v) solvent mixture. Ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution tandem MS using targeted and untargeted approaches were used in these approaches. CPS allowed the identification of the 26 cannabinoids in T. micranthum described for the first time in this plant.