Health Ranger’s science paper on cannabis extract analysis published in mainstream science journal LC/GC

As I promised fans and readers a year ago, a mainstream, peer-reviewed science journal has just published a science paper I co-authored. The paper has been published by the LC/GC journal and is entitled Liquid Chromatography–Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Cannabinoid Profiling and Quantitation in Hemp Oil Extracts.

This is the first science paper I’ve had published in a mainstream, peer-reviewed science journal (with many more to come). I’ve also published a water contamination heavy metals analysis paper in our in-house journal called the Natural Science Journal, and I’m the author of Food Forensics, which achieved the #1 bestselling science book on Amazon.com. In addition to publishing Scientific.news, I’m also the founder and lab science director of CWC Labs, an ISO-accredited, internationally recognized food science laboratory.

The new paper in LC/GC describes a quantitation method I co-developed with other food scientists to accurately quantitate cannabinoids in hemp extracts, using LC/MS-TOF instrumentation (mass spec Time-Of-Flight). The cannabinoids covered in this analysis include CBD, CBDA, THC, CBN, CBC and others (see image below). We use all Agilent instrumentation in our lab, including ICP-MS, MS-TOF and single quad LC/MS systems.

What’s especially interesting about this method is that it looks at all these cannabis-related molecules in their liquid form, keeping the molecules intact. Much of the current lab analysis of cannabis extracts uses gas chromatography which denatures heat-sensitive molecules such as CBDA. This method also uses mass spectrometry, which is several orders of magnitude more sensitive and accurate compared to the UV detection typically used by most labs.

Here are some of the hemp extract molecules our method covers:

Mass confirmation means molecules can’t be counterfeited

Commonly used LC methods relying on UV detection can easily be tricked by unscrupulous hemp product formulators who substitute counterfeit molecules for CBD or THC. Because UV detection systems lack mass confirmation and ion fragmentation confirmation, they have no way to differentiate between counterfeit molecules and genuine target molecules (analytes). In testing off-the-shelf hemp extract products, we have found some products that only delivered 1/5th of their claimed content of CBD.

Mass spec analysis of hemp extracts, as we have pioneered at CWC Labs, confirms the mass of target analytes to four decimal places. CBD, for example, has an atomic mass (M+H) of 315.2319 (the extra 1 is from the +H, created during ionization), and only a Time-Of-Flight instrument has the mass discrimination resolution to achieve this pinpoint accuracy. Furthermore, even though this wasn’t the focus of this particular science paper, Time-Of-Flight instrumentation also applies a fragmentation voltage to the ion stream, causing predictable fragmentation patterns that break complex molecules at their most vulnerable atomic bonds. This results in a “fragmentation fingerprint” which provides further confirmation of the authenticity of the target analytes. UV systems have no such capabilities.

Because Time-Of-Flight instrumentation simultaneously scans all atomic masses simultaneously (it isn’t limited to a SIM), it also quantitates the isotopic spread of the target analyte, establishing yet another confirmation pattern of molecular masses with the predictable spread from carbon-13. (In some cases, we can even quant on the second isotope.

Due to all these advantages, this analysis method is already being shared and used by other cannabis analysis labs in Colorado and California. It’s just one of many science papers I’ll be co-authoring, stemming from my original food science research at CWC Labs.

We currently use this method to validate the commercial hemp extract product known as Native Hemp Solutions, which is based in Colorado. All bottles of Native Hemp Solutions are scientifically confirmed for their cannabinoid content before they are sold to the public.

Here are some photos from the print version of the LC/GC journal:

Also, here’s a video where I describe how to use mass spectrometry to analyze and quantitate cannabinoid extracts:

Follow more news on hemp science at HempScience.news.

 

 

 

 

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About the author: Mike Adams (aka the “Health Ranger“) is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com called “Food Forensics“), an environmental scientist, a patent holder for a cesium radioactive isotope elimination invention, a multiple award winner for outstanding journalism, a science news publisher and influential commentator on topics ranging from science and medicine to culture and politics. Follow his videos, podcasts, websites and science projects at the links below.

Mike Adams serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation. He has also achieved numerous laboratory breakthroughs in the programming of automated liquid handling robots for sample preparation and external standards prep.

The U.S. patent office has awarded Mike Adams patent NO. US 9526751 B2 for the invention of “Cesium Eliminator,” a lifesaving invention that removes up to 95% of radioactive cesium from the human digestive tract. Adams has pledged to donate full patent licensing rights to any state or national government that needs to manufacture the product to save human lives in the aftermath of a nuclear accident, disaster, act of war or act of terrorism. He has also stockpiled 10,000 kg of raw material to manufacture Cesium Eliminator in a Texas warehouse, and plans to donate the finished product to help save lives in Texas when the next nuclear event occurs. No independent scientist in the world has done more research on the removal of radioactive elements from the human digestive tract.

Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and American Indians. He is of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his “Health Ranger” passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution.

Adams is the founder and publisher of the open source science journal Natural Science Journal, the author of numerous peer-reviewed science papers published by the journal, and the author of the world’s first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books.

In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products.

In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.

With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies.

Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed “strange fibers” found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health “gurus,” dangerous “detox” products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics.

Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.

In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over fifteen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics.

Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com.

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