GemmaCert has revealed today the results of a scientific study that points toward a significant deviation between labeled and measured cannabidiol, or CBD, potency on commercially available products in Greece.
These results raise serious concerns from both a safety and efficacy point of view.
According to new research by Grand View Research, the global CBD market is forecasted to reach $9.69 billion USD by 2025 growing at an impressive CAGR of 32.6%.
The study was conducted by Professor Poulas Konstantinos and his team from the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Patras in Greece and in collaboration with GemmaCert Ltd., a market leader for cannabis analytics with customers in over 20 countries.
What You See Is Not What You Get
Multiple products, legally available on the Greek market, from seven companies, were analyzed using the industry gold standard for testing cannabis potency, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, and GemmaCert’s cannabis potency testing solution based on its patented technology combining near-infrared spectroscopy, image analysis and advanced data analytics.
Calculations from both devices show that on average product labels understated CBD levels by 50.8%.
The full findings will be presented at the 20th International Congress of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology to be held in Thessaloniki, Greece, in April 2020.
High-Tech Testing
Results from 206 tests also confirm a close correlation between HPLC and GemmaCert performance with an average variance of 9.63% between the two analytical methods of estimation. That’s not bad given that a GemmaCert testing device is a fraction of the cost of an HPLC machine.
CBD can be found today in many consumer products from cosmetics and personal care to dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals, making testing more and more important every day. “Ensuring accurate CBD dosage labeling is important for consumer safety and efficacy,” said Dr. Guy Setton, CEO of GemmaCert Ltd.
Earlier this year GemmaCert unveiled the industry’s first presumptive field test to effectively detect the percentage of THC present in cannabis, as low as 0.2%, to accurately distinguish within minutes between hemp and cannabis.
Beyond just cultivators and processors in need of onsite testing, from a law enforcement perspective, the machine is a godsend. Distinguishing the difference between hemp and marijuana has been a problem for police officers.
GemmaCert’s Strategic Investors
To date, GemmaCert has raised millions of dollars from strategic investors such as Applied BioSciences Corp. (OTC:APPB) (previously known as Stony Hill), NEO Ventures, Israeli Arba Finance, and Agrinnovation, a fund affiliated with Jerusalem’s Hebrew University.
Conclusion
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