The Cannabis Terpenes

Abstract

Terpenes are the primary constituents of essential oils and are responsible for the aroma characteristics of cannabis. Together with the cannabinoids, terpenes illustrate synergic and/or entourage effect and their interactions have only been speculated in for the last few decades. Hundreds of terpenes are identified that allude to cannabis sensory attributes, contributing largely to the consumer's experiences and market price. They also enhance many therapeutic benefits, especially as aromatherapy. To shed light on the importance of terpenes in the cannabis industry, the purpose of this review is to morphologically describe sources of cannabis terpenes and to explain the biosynthesis and diversity of terpene profiles in different cannabis chemovars.

Keywords: essential oil; hemp; marijuana; trichomes; volatile profile.

Figure 1

The evolution of the Chinese characters of the word “Cannabis sativa” or “Ma” (a) and the place of origin of the cannabis plant in the southern Caspian sea near Iran (b).

Figure 2

The cannabis plant var. Kees’ Old School Haze^® (available at https://dutch-passion.com) (a) and their flower buds var. Gorilla Glue (available at http://www.seedstockers.com) (b).

Figure 3

The cannabis staminate flowers (a) and pistillate flowers (b) with the trichome structures as the localization of cannabinoids and terpenes of Kees’ Old School Haze^® (available at https://dutch-passion.com) (c).

Figure 4

Different trichome structures for cannabis plants (a); the stalked types that are available on the floral surface (b); and sugar leaf structures with the presences of trichomes of the Cannabis sativa L. var. Kees’ Old School Haze^® (available at https://dutch-passion.com) (c).

Figure 5

The gas chromatogram equipped with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of the cannabis terpene extract (butanol) from the floral tissue of Cannabis sativa L. (a) and predominant terpene chemovars (b). Denotes the dried cannabis flower (0.2 g) extracted with propanol by the ultrasonic assisted method [36] and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was performed using the protocol described previously [57].

Figure 6

The terpene biosynthesis pathway in cannabis. Abbreviations: DMAPP, dimethylallyl diphosphate; FPP, farnesyl diphosphate; IPP, isopentenyl diphosphate; GPP, geranyl diphosphate; mono-TPS, monoterpene synthase; sesqui-TPS, sesqiterpene synthase.

Figure 7

The chromatogram of the volatile profiles of Cannabis sativar L. var. Northern Light (https://www.seedstockers.com). Denotes terpenes isolated from dried florescence (50 mg) using headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) with 50/30 μm carbowax-divinylbenzene, CAR-PDMS-DVB StableFlex fiber (Supelco, Bellefonte, PA, USA) followed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry [75,78].