The impact of extraction protocol on the chemical profile of cannabis extracts from a single cultivar

Posted on January 18, 2022 By LabLynx Journal articles

As with preparing samples in other fields of science, the processing method for cannabis in order to measure its analytes can vary, sometimes significantly. However, some standardized processes for, e.g., extraction protocols, do exist, though one process may still differ slightly from another. According to Bowen et al. of Colorado State University and Charlotte’s Web, Inc., a knowledge gap exists concerning what the composition results of varying extraction protocols are on cannabis. In this 2021 paper, the authors seek to address that knowledge gap, using a single proprietary cannabis cultivar and 20 commercial extraction procedures. The authors conducted principal component analysis (PCA) using a variety of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), ultra high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) techniques. They found discrepancies in the bioactive chemical profiles across the different extraction protocols, leading them to conclude a definitive "need for further research regarding the influence of processing on therapeutic efficacy, as well as the importance of labeling in the marketing of multi-component cannabis products."

Quality management system implementation in human and animal laboratories

Posted on January 4, 2022 By LabLynx Journal articles

In this 2021 paper published in the journal One Health, Kachuwaire et al.discuss the results of an Armenian effort to strengthen the human and veterinary laboratory quality management system (QMS) programs across 15 laboratories. This QMS strengthening, based on World Health Organization and World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, occurred between 2017 and 2020, followed by an assessment of the program's success. After reviewing their assessment methods, the authors discuss the results, noting that in both human and veterinarian labs, improvements were seen in the "areas of organizational structure, human resources, equipment management, supply chain, and data management," though some laboratories still showed poor results afterwards. Their findings indicated those labs that tended to do poorly post-implementation lacked a supportive long-term quality manager, "demonstrating the importance of a full-time or substantive quality manager."

Data management and modeling in plant biology

Posted on December 27, 2021 By LabLynx Journal articles

For those studying plant biology and how the environment affects it, the recognition of that study as being multidisciplinary, challenging, and vital is growing. However, as Krantz et al. point out in their 2021 paper published in Frontiers in Plant Science, that recognition alone is not enough. Given multi-omics research into plant biology and the environmental sciences over recent decades, as well as disparate data formats and management strategies across the many related disciplines, bringing this varied multidisciplinary data together for research is difficult, slowing the modern research process down. The authors review these incoherencies and discuss several ways in which " a quantitative model of plant-environment interactions" is required to advance such research. After their introduction, the authors discuss important components of this model, including genome-scale metabolic network reconstruction, quantitative large-scale experiments on integrative platforms, quantitative analysis methods, and research data management systems. They conclude that these elements, and others, will help lead to more "efficient use of experimental findings."