Extraction, Characterization, and Monosaccharide Composition Comparison of Polysaccharides Extracted from Cannabis sativa Cherry Hemp Root and Fedora 17 Hemp Leaves

Abstract

Traditional medicine has used plants and plant extracts to treat inflammation, tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, and in some cases the effects of radiation. While these plants tended to be effective, the reason behind their medicinal properties was unknown. There has now been extensive research on polysaccharides in many plants regarding their bioactivities. Hemp has been shown to have many bioactive properties including anti-anxiety, anti-nausea, anti-arthritic, anti-psychotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. While there has been much research done on the cannabinoids of hemp, there has been little previous research on the polysaccharides isolated from Cannabis sativa. This project focuses on purifying and characterizing the polysaccharides of Cannabis sativa from cherry hemp root and Fedora 17 leaves. The hemp polysaccharides were extracted using ethanol and water. The crude extract was then purified by anion-exchange chromatography and size exclusion chromatography. The pure polysaccharides were hydrolyzed, and the resulting monosaccharides were derivatized with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) for HPLC analysis to determine the monosaccharide composition. Functional groups were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy.