ABSTRACT
The analysis of natural products expressed in Cannabis sativa is of growing importance due to legalization processes taking place across the world. The most studied analytes are the cannabinoids, which are responsible for the plant’s medicinal, pharmaceutical, and psychoactive effects. Currently, different methods are applied for their identification and quantification, each one having different aims of research and matrix complexity. One of the most comprehensive techniques that can be used to analyze cannabinoids of high and low concentrations is mass spectrometry (MS), which can be used while coupled with gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC), or by itself. In this chapter, we will provide a collection of relevant MS works to help illuminate this rapidly growing field of analysis. The analysis of C. sativa components is in fact the first step toward better understanding and use of this plant, as well as exploiting its therapeutic elements.
