AOAC 133rd Annual Meeting - Final Program

Poster Abstracts | Tuesday

P-T-020 Elizabeth Manning , Carol Donnelly , Joyce Wilcox , Claire Milligan , R-Biopharm Rhône Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom Efficient, Automated Analysis of Mycotoxins in Cannabis and Related Products Using Online Immunoaffinity Clean-Up in Conjunction with HPLC-FLD There is an increasing trend towards the legalization of canna- bis around the world, whether it is for medicinal purposes or for recreational use. The techniques employed in the drying of the leaves and flowers could encourage the growth of fungal mould and therefore harmful mycotoxins may be present. The leaves and flowers are dried slowly in the dark with ventilation, the opposite of conventional drying techniques used in other matri- ces which employ sunlight and elevated temperatures to deter fungal and mould growth. Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A may be the most prevalent mycotoxins present in cannabis according to the observational data available. Surveillance of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A would therefore be prudent in order to protect public health and ultimately determine maximum levels permissi- ble in cannabis and its related products. Immunoaffinity clean-up columns with antibodies raised to the mycotoxins are routinely used in food analysis and are increasingly being employed in the analysis of medicinal herbs. Immunoaffinity columns provide the specificity for the compounds of interest while allowing the complete removal of sample matrix, giving clear analyte peaks on the chromatograms when using HPLC-FLD. Immunoaffinity columns are manually manipulated by an analyst at the bench, however, increased efficiency and a higher throughput of samples is achieved with the RIDA ® CREST integrated HPLC instrument, combined with IMMUNOPREP ® ONLINE immunoaf- finity cartridges. Presenter: Elizabeth Manning, R-Biopharm Rhône Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom, Email: elizabeth@r-biopharmrhone.com P-T-021 Carol Donnelly , Elizabeth Manning , Claire Milligan , Phyllis Brown , Tamina Nazeer , Joyce Wilcox , R-Biopharm Rhône Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom Analysis of Mycotoxins in Cannabis and Related Products Using Multi-Toxin Immunoaffinity Clean-Up Columns in Conjunction with HPLC-FLD More than 40 years ago a paper published in the scientific journal Mycopathologia showed that under favorable condi- tions, Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus could flourish and produce aflatoxins on marijuana. Uncured marijuana plant material inadequately processed could offer the right condi- tions for fungal growth. There appears to have been little or no follow-up to these observations. Legalization of consumption of cannabis products in Canada and several U.S. states now brings safety to the fore. Cannabis needs to be scrutinized for residues and contaminants the same as food or pharmaceutical products. In terms of analysis, immunoaffinity clean-up is already well established in Official Methods (AOAC International and CEN Standards) for use in the analysis of a diverse range of complex matrices for all the regulated mycotoxins including aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. Immunoaffinity column methods have been

rigorously validated and have been applied to a variety of botanical products such as herbal medicines, which have matrix similarities to marijuana. Now recent work by R-Biopharm has demonstrated that multi-toxin immunoaffinity columns such as AO ZON PREP ® provide excellent clean-up of marijuana samples when spiked and can be used with LC-fluorescence. Use of immunoaffinity columns results in excellent clean-up and better chromatography with added benefits of improving productivity and lowering overall costs when compared to using single toxin immunoaffinity columns. Presenter: Elizabeth Manning, R-Biopharm Rhône Ltd, Glasgow, United Kingdom, Email: elizabeth@r-biopharmrhone.com P-T-022 Amazon John Easterling , Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research, West Chester, PA, USA; Scott Kuzdzal , Max Wang , Jeff Dahl , Yohei Arao , Masayuki Nishimura , Sono Yem , Herb Potthoff , Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc., Columbia, MD, USA Enhancing Plant Growth, Vitality and Therapeutic Value with an Active Microbial Mix Containing Amazon Botanicals and Gemstone Harmonics The world gets 25% of all prescription drugs from tropical plants. The Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research is the go-to experiential learning organization in southeast- ern Peru that delivers innovative, transformative education programs to help develop the next generation of cross-disci- plinary conservation leaders. As the world population increases, there is a growing need for plant production for food and medicine. Augmenting crop production by increasing use of nitrogen-based fertilizers is inefficient, costly and detrimental to the environment. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) colonizes plant tissue in the roots and increases efficiency of nutrient uptake, stimulating growth and providing disease resis- tance. These microbials act as bio fertilizers communicating with each other via chemical signaling. It has also been demonstrated that in addition to microbe-to-plant signaling there is plant- to-microbe signaling as well. Enhancing the efficiency of this communication stimulates plant growth and yield while using less chemical fertilizers. Using gemstones to imprint a harmonic field for easier communication between microbials and supplementa- tion with Amazonian herbs with specific chemistries that facilitate signaling, is an exciting, new area of natural products research. Presenter: Amazon John Easterling, Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research (ACEER), West Chester, PA, USA, Email: amazonjohnflyingman@gmail.com P-T-023 Jonathan Peters , Herb Potthoff , Robert Clifford , Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc., Columbia, MD, USA Analysis of Heavy Metals in Typical Cannabis-Based Products by Shimadzu Inductively Coupled Plasma– Mass Spectrometer 2030 While more and more states across the United States continu- ally adopt legal medical and/or recreational cannabis, new cannabis-based products like edibles as an emerging market

64 SEPTEMBER 6–12, 2019 SHERATON DENVER DOWNTOWN HOTEL