Global
Cannabinoid stability in plant material and formulations under different temperatures
Researchers evaluated the stability of cannabis chemovars, extracts, isolates and oil formulations stored at room temperature, under refrigeration and frozen. Room temperature accelerated the breakdown of THC into CBN, whereas storage at −20°C preserved cannabinoid integrity across most products. CBD-only products remained stable at room temperature.
- Room temperature storage accelerated the breakdown of THC into CBN.
- CBD-only products showed robust long-term stability at room temperature.
- Storage at −20°C preserved cannabinoid integrity across most cannabis-derived products.
- THC-rich matrices were most stable as ethanolic solutions held at −20°C.
- The abstract reports direction rather than magnitude: no percentage losses and no trial duration are given.
Our view
A laboratory stability study, not a clinical one. The authors report direction rather than magnitude: the abstract carries no percentage losses and no trial duration, so nothing here supports a figure for how much potency is lost or how quickly. Room temperature accelerated the breakdown of THC into CBN, storage at −20°C preserved cannabinoid integrity across most matrices, and THC-rich material was most stable as an ethanolic solution when frozen. CBD-only products held up at room temperature; that finding does not extend to preparations containing THC alongside CBD. The results for refrigeration are not stated in the abstract, so "stable only when frozen" overstates what was shown. What the study establishes is narrower and still useful: for a THC-containing product, the dose recorded at manufacture and the dose reaching the patient are not the same thing unless storage is controlled.
Sources
Get the latest medical cannabis news by email
We send AMI updates and research summaries once a week.
