Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health & Well-being (SDG 3)
Phytochemical profiling of Cannabis in Eswatini
Nondumiso Magagula 1,2 , Thabile Ndlovu 2 , Vusumuzi Vilane 1 , Gugu Sibandze 1 1 Eswatini Institute of Research in Traditional medicine, Medicinal and Indigenous Food plants, University of Eswatini, Private Bag 4 Kwaluseni, M201, Eswatini 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Eswatini, Private Bag 4 Kwaluseni, M201, Eswatini E-mail:nomagagula@uneswa.ac.sz1,2,thabile@uneswa.ac.sz2, vsvilane@uneswa.ac.sz 1 , gsibandze@uneswa.ac.sz 1 The Cannabis genus is known to contain phytocannabinoids with varying pharmacological effects. Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the two extensively studied cannabinoids in Cannabis and occur in varying ratios in the different species of the genus. Cannabis use for medicinal purposes is highly regulated and often prohibited in many countries because of the psychoactive properties elicited predominantly by THC. In Eswatini, Cannabis use is prohibited by law and regulators find it difficult to advocate for the medicinal use of Cannabis because there is no phytochemical data for the varieties growing in Eswatini. Chemical fingerprints of the varieties can help create baseline data for research, regulation and potential therapeutic applications. The aim of this study is to conduct phytochemical analysis of cannabinoids found in different Cannabis varieties from the different geographic regions in Eswatini; and to isolate bioactive compounds through bioassay-guided isolation. Extraction of phytochemicals was done through ultrasonic-assisted solvent extraction. Chromatographic analysis of Cannabis leaves and flowers was done using TLC, HPTLC and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Qualitative characterization of the plant extracts showed a similar phytochemical profile between Cannabis leaves and inflorescence. Δ9-THC, CBN, CBL and THCA were identified in the oil extracts of the inflorescence. The preliminary results from this study show that Cannabis found in Eswatini is THC dominant and genetic modification may be required for the Cannabis to be exploited for medicinal use. Key words: Cannabis, Phytocannabinoids, Cannabidiol, Tetrahydrocannabinol References 1. Birenboim, M., Fallik, E., Kengisbuch, D. and Shimshoni, J. (2022). Quantitative and qualitative spectroscopic parameters determination of major cannabinoids, Journal of Luminescence, Volume252,119387, ISSN00223 2. Bridgeman, M. and Abazia, D. (2017). Medicinal Cannabis: History, Pharmacology, And Implications for the Acute Care Setting, PMID: 28250701; PMCID: PMC5312634 3. Esposito, M. and Piazza, L. (2022). Ultrasound-assisted extraction of oil from hempseed (CannabissativaL.): Part1. JSciFoodAgric,102:732-739. 4. Slosse, A., Van Durme, F., Samyn, N., Mangelings, D. and Vander, Y. (2021). Gas Chromatographic Fingerprint Analysis for the Comparison of Seized Cannabis Samples. Molecules. 2; 26(21):6643. doi: 10.3390/molecules26216643
P17
© The Author(s), 2025
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog