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Cannabinoids, Phenolics, Terpenes and Alkaloids of Cannabis

Mohamed M Radwan ¹, Suman Chandra ¹, Shahbaz Gul ^2 3, Mahmoud A ElSohly ^1 3 4

PMID: 34066753

Cannabis sativa is one of the oldest medicinal plants in the world. It was introduced into western medicine during the early 19th century. It contains a complex mixture of secondary metabolites, including cannabinoids and non-cannabinoid-type constituents. More than 500 compounds have been reported from C. sativa, of which 125 cannabinoids have been isolated and/or identified as cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are C₂₁ terpeno-phenolic compounds specific to Cannabis. The non-cannabinoid constituents include: non-cannabinoid phenols, flavonoids, terpenes, alkaloids and others. This review discusses the chemistry of the cannabinoids and major non-cannabinoid constituents (terpenes, non-cannabinoid phenolics, and alkaloids) with special emphasis on their chemical structures, methods of isolation, and identification.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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