The quality control of hemp and cannabis before human consumption e.g., the determination of pesticide residues and mycotoxins in cannabis biomass and its derived products, is mandatory. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2023/915 set limit values for mycotoxins in human food and animal feed. Organizations like AOAC are developing method requirements for mycotoxin determination in cannabis matrices. AOAC SMPR® 2021.010 defines aflatoxins B1/B2, aflatoxins G1/G2 and ochratoxin A as analytes of interest and specifies limits of quantification and qualification for cannabis biomass and cannabis derived products. Here, we describe four preparation methods and an analytical chromatography LC-FLD method to detect mycotoxins in different hemp matrixes at ppb level.
Simplified overview of sample preparation procedures
Chromatogram of mixed standard at calibration level L1
Overlay of spiked samples at level L4 after IAC SPE, hemp pellets – black, hemp seeds – green, hemp flour – blue, hemp oil – red
Recovery in % for all samples spiked at level L4 after IAC SPE
| Method | HPLC |
|---|---|
| Mode | RP |
| Substances | aflatoxin G2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone |
| Key words | Mycotoxins, aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, cannabis, hemp, fluorescence, FLD, sample preparation, QuEChERS, immunoaffinity chromatography, IAC, solid phase extraction, SPE |
| CAS number | 7241-98-7, 1402-68-2, 7220-81-7, 1162-65-8, 303-47-9, 17924-92-4 |
| Version | Version 2/ 11/2023 |
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