Antibiotic Activity of Various Types of Cannabis Resin

Abstract

SEVERAL methods of characterizing cannabis resin have been previously reported. Thus, methods have been developed based on indophenol reaction with 2,6-dichloroquinonechlorimide¹, on a test with peroxide and sulphuric acid², on determining the content of the acid fraction³ as well as on direct ultra-violet spectrophotometry⁴. It has been shown in the course of this work that the differences in chemical composition shown by various types of cannabis resin may be explained by the stage of development of a phytochemical process by which cannabidiolic acid is gradually converted to cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinols and finally to cannabinol. In previous work in this Institute this conversion process was referred to as ‘ripening’ of the resin. Thus, cannabis in which cannabidiolic acid (the initial substance in the conversion of cannabinols) predominated was classified as ‘unripe’. The resin containing mostly physiologically active tetrahydrocannabinols was referred to as ‘ripe’. An ‘intermediate’ type of the drug contains predominantly cannabidiol, while the resin, including mostly cannabinol (the final conversion product), corresponds to the ‘overripe’ cannabis. An alterated type of resin, supposed to contain mostly disintegration products of cannabinols, has also been encountered. The progress of the ripening process in cannabis resin and consequently the formation of a given type was supposed to be affected by climatic, genetic and other ecological factors.