Does Cannabis Extract Obtained From Cannabis Flowers With Maximum Allowed Residual Level of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin a Have an Impact on Human Safety and Health?

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the cannabis extract obtained from cannabis flowers that contain the maximum allowed level of mycotoxins affects human safety and health. For that purpose, a novel liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the determination of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A (OchA) in cannabis extracts to demonstrate that this analytical method is suitable for the intended experimental design.Methods: Experimental design was done by adding maximum allowed concentration of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2) and OchA according to the European Pharmacopeia related to cannabis flowers. The concentration of aflatoxins and OchA was determined using the same LC/MS/MS analytical method in the starting material (dry flower) before preparing the spiked sample and after obtaining decarboxylated extract with ethanol 96%.Results: The results obtained indicate that aflatoxins and OchA, primarily added to the cannabis dried flowers, were also determined into the obtained final extract in amounts much higher (m/m) than in the starting plant material.Conclusion: With this experiment, we have shown that mycotoxins, especially aflatoxins, which are extremely toxic secondary metabolites, can reach critical values in cannabis extracts obtained from dry cannabis flowers with the maximum allowed quantity of mycotoxins. This can pose a great risk to consumers and their health especially to those with compromised immune systems.

Cannabis Extract Has a Positive–Immunostimulating Effect through Proteolytic System and Metabolic Compounds of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Workers

In the study, we assessed the effect of hemp extract on activities of resistance parameters and the metabolic compound concentration in adult workers’ hemolymph. Bees were divided into the following groups: (1) control group fed with mixture of sugar and water-glycerine solution, (2) experimental group with pure sugar syrup and inside with cotton strips soaked with hemp extract, (3) experimental group with a mixture of sugar syrup with hemp extract. Hemp extracts caused an increase in the protein concentrations and reduced the protease activities regardless of the administration method. The protease inhibitor activities were decreased only in the group that received hemp extract on the strips. The biomarker activities (ALP, ALT, AST) increased from the control group and workers feeding extract in syrup and decreased in workers supplemented with the extract on strips. In young, 2-day-old workers, the glucose concentration was higher in the groups feeding with the extract than in the control. Hemp extract influenced an increase in urea concentrations in workers’ hemolymph in comparison with the control. The hemp supplementation positively influences the immune system of workers, and the appropriate method of administration may be adapted to the health problems of bees.

Cannabis constituents interact at the drug efflux pump BCRP to markedly increase plasma cannabidiolic acid concentrations

Cannabis is a complex mixture of hundreds of bioactive molecules. This provides the potential for pharmacological interactions between cannabis constituents, a phenomenon referred to as “the entourage effect” by the medicinal cannabis community. We hypothesize that pharmacokinetic interactions between cannabis constituents could substantially alter systemic cannabinoid concentrations. To address this hypothesis we compared pharmacokinetic parameters of cannabinoids administered orally in a cannabis extract to those administered as individual cannabinoids at equivalent doses in mice. Astonishingly, plasma cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) concentrations were 14-times higher following administration in the cannabis extract than when administered as a single molecule. In vitro transwell assays identified CBDA as a substrate of the drug efflux transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and that cannabigerol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibited the BCRP-mediated transport of CBDA. Such a cannabinoid-cannabinoid interaction at BCRP transporters located in the intestine would inhibit efflux of CBDA, thus resulting in increased plasma concentrations. Our results suggest that cannabis extracts provide a natural vehicle to substantially enhance plasma CBDA concentrations. Moreover, CBDA might have a more significant contribution to the pharmacological effects of orally administered cannabis extracts than previously thought.