LABTips: Troubleshooting Tricky Terpenes

 LABTips: Troubleshooting Tricky Terpenes

Terpene profiling is an important area of cannabis testing that goes beyond just determining the aromatic qualities of a product. Terpene contents and concentrations can be used as a “fingerprint” to identify certain cannabis strains, and terpenes have also been shown to enhance the medicinal properties of cannabinoids, such as the muscle relaxant effects of THC.1 Some regions also require terpene testing for quality assurance in addition to cannabinoid and contaminant analysis. Overall, more than 140 different terpene components can be found in cannabis, and you may be tasked with testing anywhere from a handful, to tens, to dozens of these components, some of which may be more difficult to recover and separate than others. Below are a few handy tips to keep in mind while performing your terpene profiling analyses using gas chromatography (GC) methods.

Read more on Labcompare.