Synthesis of A9-Tetrahydrocannabinol from Natural Cannabidiol Semisynthetic

Synthesis of A9-Tetrahydrocannabinol from Natural Cannabidiol (Semisynthetic A9-THC) 

As discussed, the cultivation of C. sativa with high content of A9-THC (drug-type) is not allowed in many coimtries. Because of this, there is no opportunity to harvest a high amoimt of the medicinally important substance A9-THC directly from plant material. In the synthesis route for semisynthetic A9-THC, natural CBD from fiber hemp plants is employed. It can be extracted with non-polar solvents such as petroleum ether and purified by recrystalUza-fion in n-pentane. This procedure avoids the formation of abnormal CBD and gives the opportunity to produce A9-THC from fiber hemp. Semisyn-fhetic A9-THC is disfinguishable from the synthetic compound because it contains, besides the major product, small amounts of A9-THC-C3 and A9-THC-C4, which are not available in the synthetic product. 

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