Interference of alkanes in the gas chromatographic analysis of cannabis products

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Abstract
Leaves of young marihuana plants (Cannabis sativa L.) were found by gas liquid chromatography to contain appreciable amounts of two long-chain alkanes, n-heptacosane and n-nonacosane. These alkanes, along with other straight chain alkanes ranging from C19 to C32 could also be detected as minor components in a variety of other marihuana and hashish samples. Depending on the polarity of the g.l.c. column used, the alkanes may have retention times similar to those of the major cannabinoids and thus interfere with qualitative and quantitative analyses of the latter. The findings indicate that g.l.c. alone cannot be used as an accurate and reliable technique for cannabinoid analysis, unless the alkanes are previously removed. However, the alkane composition may be of additional advantage in determining the origin of seized cannabis samples.