Abstract: A method for the simultaneous determination of δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) in edible oil was developed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The target compounds were extracted with methanol, purified by an LC-Alumina-N solid phase extraction cartridge, separated and detected by the UPLC-MS/MS. Quantitative analysis was corrected by an isotope internal standard method using δ-9-THC-D3 as internal standard. Average recoveries for the target compounds varied from 68.0% to 101.6% with the relative standard deviations ranging from 7.0% to 20.1% at three spiked levels. The limits of detection (LOD) of the method were from 0.06 ~0.17 μg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were in the range of 0.20~0.52 μg/kg. The results showed that the method is able to meet the requirements for the simultaneous determination of THC, CBD and CBN in edible oil.

Key words: δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, edible oil, ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)