Relationship between cannabinoids content and composition of fatty acids in hempseed oils

• The THC content in samples was 3.23–69.50 mg/kg.
• The phenotype ratio varied between 0.03 and 14.99.
• Omega-6/omega-3 ratio of the hempseeds oil is around 3:1.
• Sample clustering based on cannabinoid content is the same as on FA content.
• Desaturation of LA and ALA to GLA and SDA occurs on the same enzymes in hemp.

Hempseed oils acquired on the Croatian markets were characterised by cannabinoid content and fatty acid composition. The new method for determination of cannabinoid content was developed and validated in the range of 0.05–60 mg/kg, and the content of tetrahydrocannabinol varied between 3.23 and 69.5 mg/kg. Large differences among the samples were obtained for phenotype ratio suggesting that not all of analysed hempseed oils were produced from industrial hemp. Sample clustering based on cannabinoid content assigned samples to two groups closely related to the phenotype ratios obtained. The results of this study confirm that hempseed oil is a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially γ-linolenic and stearidonic acid, but the content varies a lot more than the omega-6/omega-3 ratio. The grouping of samples on fatty acid content assigned samples to two groups which were consistent with the groups obtained based on cannabinoid content clustering.