“Under current legislation in Italy, Cannabis for medical purposes may be administered
orally in the form of decoction or Cannabis oil extract. The scientific literature reports a
number of preparation methods, mainly for oils, but no study is available that compares
thoroughly, from a technological viewpoint, the Cannabis-based formulations currently
administered to patients. With this in mind, this research work aimed to carry out specific
formulation studies to design standard operating procedures for the preparation and
optimization of Cannabis-based galenic formulations. Both decoctions and oils were
prepared under different operating conditions to identify the most efficient process
for the production of formulations with a high concentration of decarboxylated delta-
9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Regarding Cannabis oil, a new
procedure has been developed that allows significantly higher recovery rates for THC and
CBD compared with those for water-based extraction methods (decoction) and those for
oil-based methods currently in use. Moreover, based on the results, it is possible to affirm
that the prescription of Cannabis-based decoctions should not be the recommended
first-choice solution for therapy, considering the low concentration of THC and CBD”
fphar-10-00701.pdf (942.6 KB)