Elaboration and Validation of HPLC/DAD Method for Quality Control of Products Containing Cannabidiol

Background: Cannabidiol (CBD) is the main, physiologically active, but psycho-inactive constituent of the glandular hairs of Cannabis sativa. CBD exhibits diverse pharmacological activities and it is used as an anticonvulsant, sedative and hypnotic agent. Other biological properties shown by CBD are antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective. Objective: The aim of this study is to develop, validate and apply high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/DAD) method with diode array detection for identification and assay of CBD in food supplements obtained by different types of extraction and purification. Method: HPLC method with isocratic elution using column C18 ODS, 250 x 4.6, 100 Å, 5 μm, mobile phase - a mixture of acetonitrile and water in ratio 80:20 v/v, a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and DAD detection at 220 nm, was used. Results: The method was developed and validated according to European Pharmacopoeia and International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). For the analytical purposes, parameters like repeatability, linearity, accuracy, LOD, LOQ, specificity and system suitability were studied. The developed method was successfully applied on a series of food supplements containing CBD. Conclusion: The developed method is of practical importance for the determination of purity, identification and assay tests of food supplements containing CBD extract in accordance with EU regulation concerning food authorizations because it is useful for analytical tests for identification, purity determination and assay of products containing CBD extract and could serve as part of the testing process in the pharmaceutical industry.