New Compounds Discovered in Cannabis Explain Distinctive Garlic Aroma
EXCITING!
EXCITING!
Updating to add — I’ve been in touch with the fine folks at ABSTRAX, and will be finding out more — for now, here’s a direct link to their discussion of their exceptional work!
It’s not every day that someone discovers an entire new classification of chemicals in cannabis — but that’s exactly what happened! ABSTRAX, a wholesale terpene distributor, has published a paper in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) journal, ACS Omega. The compounds are called ‘prenylated volatile sulfur compounds (VSC).’ These compounds even have some that are prevalent primarily in cannabis, earning them the name ‘cannasulfur compounds.’
The garlic smell has been a particularly difficult scent to nail down, and I know that I’ve tried to figure it out myself during my terpene research. I’ve readily been able to find a lot of information about those sweet, floral scents and the citrus smells,but now with the discovery of VSC’s it becomes even clearer how very amazing the cannabis plant is. A team at ABSTRAX lead by T.J. Martin used 2D gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and other methods to discover this family of compounds. I was so excited to read about this because, much like cannaflavins, it helps explain a lot of the experiences I’ve had as a cannabis consumer.
It ends up that the vast information returned in standard gas chromatography testing can be very complex in the case of cannabis, which has a large array of scent compounds present, which is why the layering of methods was important to the team making this discovery. Dr. Iain Oswald, the lead author of the study, said “”Much like Cannflavins are prenylated flavonoids found specifically in cannabis, some of these newly discovered ‘cannasulfur compounds’ also appear to be highly specific prenylated VSCs to cannabis”, said Oswald.
The study has the capability of having a deep impact on cannabis science, as it introduces a new set of variables to examine and test, and it helped explain some variability in the smell of particular cultivars. Additionally, the prenyl group has the potential to carry as many medicinal benefits of the allyl group (the group to which garlic belongs). The study also found that these garlicy compounds can, in the least, be found in BHO extracts.
The study also found that the presence of VSC’s in cannabis were increased the longer that the cannabis matured, and reached a maximum directly after the cure, with large amounts of drop off after even a week. Kevin Koby, the CSO of ABSTRAX, commented, “”Hopefully our results will establish a new standard for cultivators and distributors to help preserve and protect these key compounds — regardless of the rigors of processing, packaging, and time on shelf. Most importantly, it will help brands maximize their products and literally push cannabis quality to the next level.”
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