Determination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of cannabis seizures in Egypt

Ahmed M A Souleman; Alaa El-Din M Gaafar; Omar M Abdel-Salam; Shaimaa A ElShebiney

doi:10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.03.011

Determination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of cannabis seizures in Egypt

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2017 Mar;10(3):311-314. doi: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.03.011. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

Authors

Ahmed M A Souleman¹, Alaa El-Din M Gaafar², Omar M Abdel-Salam³, Shaimaa A ElShebiney⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Phytochemistry and Plant Systematic, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
² Department of Photochemistry, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
³ Department of Toxicology and Narcotics, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: omasalam@hotmail.com.
⁴ Department of Toxicology and Narcotics, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 28442116
DOI: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2017.03.011

Abstract

Objective: To determine the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of cannabis seizures in Egypt.

Methods: Unheated and heated extracts of cannabis seizures were prepared from the dried flowering tops and leaves (marijuana) or from the resin (hashish) and subjected to analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Results: The heated resin extract had the peak of THC in a relative ratio of 31.34%, while extracting the resin directly without heating contained only 18.34% of THC. On the other hand, marijuana showed minimum percentage of THC at 11.188% on heating and 9.55% without heating.

Conclusions: These results indicate the high potency of the abused cannabis plant in the illicit Egyptian market.

Keywords: Cannabis; Hashish; High performance liquid chromatography; Marijuana; THC.