Experiment to test the cannabinoid levels in roots & stems

[CBDNeil]

I was reading a really good post by Sweet Sue (Thank you for such an in depth post Sue) about dosing & the subject of CBD in roots came up in the posts. I've read in the past that the roots hold a lot of CBD but I could never find proof. So after reading the excellent post this morning (not all of it yet, as it's over 300 pages long but what I've read so far is epic!), I thought I'd give it a go myself, hoping to shed some light on the myth. Apologies if someone's already done this experiment.

I've just cut a couple of Tangerine Dream autos (from Barneys farm), so will use one of those for the experiment as the roots are still moist in the soil.
First picture is of the donor (left) & her sister. I experiment a lot, so at about 2 weeks after sprouting, I topped the donor & fimmed the sister to compare the yield when dried & cured.
Second picture: Trichomes not as heavy as on non-auto plants & I normally leave longer but they had been germinated 88 days ago & the G/Mol reading was high @1809, so harvested.
I cut yesterday, so buds not dry yet but readings were fine using street hemp mode. I took cannabinoid readings this morning using 0.15g from the donor plant to compare against the reading I get from the roots once that's done.
Donor plant harvested but lower stem & roots still in soil.
Still some soil but roots breaking away too much at this point while cleaning the last of the soil.
Roots drying in drying box
Stem cut into 3 parts: Outer skin, center & mix of both. I've separated the stem into these parts to see if there is a higher concentration in one or the other, & cut into shavings to speed up drying process.
I'll wait for the roots & stem shavings to dry & then run the analysis.

 

[Oldbear]

Ill be watching with great interest.

 

[dynamo1]

 

[InTheShed]

I'm in for science. Thanks Neil for doing the research (and Oldbear for pointing me here)!

 

[SweetSue]

Whoa! Way to go buckaroo! and thank you so much for the effort.

I’ll be keeping an eye out.

 

[JustMeds]

Think I will plant me tap root here also. Will for sure learn something.

 

[Tio Hector]

I’ll pull up a chair

 

[CBDNeil]

Although the roots and stem dried pretty quickly, the analyser works best in laboratory conditions & I've been busy so I've only just been able to create the right conditions (as close as possible) to carry out the tests.
Clearing the mud from the roots was a bit tedious & at the time, I decided the results would have to be very impressive (high CBD levels) to go through the hassle again.
The results are in.....

Sample of bud previously tested, contained level of CBD: 2.93% (0.79 CBD & 2.14 CBDa)

Sample of root tested, contained level of CBD: 13.53% (3.6 CBD & 9.87 CBDa).

Samples of stem tested: Highest potential was from inner stem @5.5% total CBD & CBDa & lowest from outer skin @3.1% total CBD & CBDa

Even factoring in a potential 0.5-1% error margin in readings (humidity, temp & ambient PPM's affect readings), the results are pretty conclusive:
Roots from the sample plant contain a significantly higher level of CBD & CBDa than the harvested flower of the plant. Also a higher level of CBC & CBN molecules were recorded: CBC 0.11% & CBC 0.12%.
Levels of THC & THCa in the roots were significantly lower than in the harvested flower: THC 2.35% THCa 5.48%

It seems that the myth is true and personally, I consider that level of CBD worth extracting from the roots

I am now decarboxylating the roots & stem to convert as much of the CBDa to CBD as possible. I'll be making oil with the roots & stem & will run tests for levels on the finished oil. My latest generation oil is: MCT fractionated coconut oil & sunflower lecithin. The lecithin increases the bioavailabilty, so the oil is more potent.

 

[SweetSue]

Ok... I got chills. Anyone else?

 

[SweetSue]

Neil, this is a significant find. How has it been overlooked all this time?

 

[InTheShed]

Mind. Blown.

Thank you Neil!

 

[CBDNeil]

I have to run the experiments objectively Sue, so can't get too excited while in progress.....but now it's complete, I must admit the results surpassed my expectation & I'm very excited about it.
I read a few times in the past that the levels of CBD were high in the roots and wherever I read it, the writers seemed quite confidant but the claims weren't backed up with proof & I couldn't find any evidence on the net. I didn't have the equipment at the time to test for myself, so I ignored it. I assumed that if it was true, everyone would be using the roots.
I'm not sure how many people have a dedicated cannabinoid analyser that would be interested in testing the roots, maybe that could be why it's not been tested confirmed before?
It was only when reading your post that I remembered the CBD in the roots claims.....and as my analyser was next to me on the bench at the time.... I thought I'd prove or disprove the myth.

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Interesting indeed

What is that machine yer using???

 

[Oldbear]

Ok... I got chills. Anyone else?

Mind. Blown.

Thank you Neil!

Neil, this is a significant find. How has it been overlooked all this time?

All of the above. Its interesting that in the history of cannabis use narratives, use of the roots was always part of it. I guess that with the preoccupation with super buds, for primarily smoking, this was abandoned.

Cannabis as a food and as a medicine is back in vogue. woohoo

CBDNeil thanks so much for sharing this. If you could let us know how you prepared the root that would be a great help for following your tracks.

 

[CBDNeil]

Interesting indeed

What is that machine yer using???

Hi Chris, I'm using THC Analyzer v9.2

 

[Oldbear]

Holy hell. I just realized that when I harvested last summers container grown NLAs, I just cut off the stem. I have 4 root sets sitting in frozen ground. There is a defrost in my future. haha

 

[CBDNeil]

All of the above. Its interesting that in the history of cannabis use narratives, use of the roots was always part of it. I guess that with the preoccupation with super buds, for primarily smoking, this was abandoned.

Cannabis as a food and as a medicine is back in vogue. woohoo

CBDNeil thanks so much for sharing this. If you could let us know how you prepared the root that would be a great help for following your tracks.

Hi Sue, thank you for your message & I think you're right. The obsession with fatter buds with ever increasing THC% to make higher profits, may have caused the roots/healing options to be overlooked.

I grow in 10cm pots so the root sample I used was manageable. I will consider bigger pots to increase the root yield in future as CBD is my goal but I can imagine bigger pots being a lot more work to get the roots from.

With the sample I used for this experiment, I gently shook off the coco from the roots & rinsed the rest off (as much as possible). There came a point, when although I was rinsing under water gently, the smaller roots were being washed away, so there was still a small amount of coco (none in test samples though) when I stopped.
That was my first time of washing roots & now I'll work out a more efficient way to do it.
I hung the roots, still attached to the stem in a drying box for a week.
If results of the first test had been low or inconclusive, I would have crushed the roots and taken another reading.
After the test results, I didn't see the need to crush the roots & run another test.
After the first test on the roots, the analyzer was reset and a known sample was tested to check accuracy. The root sample was then re-tested with the same results. (0.2% variation but this is to be expected & within acceptable parameters).
I hope that helps Sue?

 

[nickeluring]

This is incredibly interesting, Neil. Good find.
A tincture made of the roots must be great for medical use of CBD.

I would be interested to know if any of the CBD/THC would wander from the roots to the buds if the plant is dried whole with roots. Drying whole makes the quality of the buds better for sure, but will it also make them more potent...?
Many many years ago I heard that drying plants whole and hang them upside down would make them stronger. I thought it was a myth, but now that you've proven how much the roots and stems actually contain, it suddenly seems plausible.

 

[MrGreene]

Great info. Thanks for taking the initiative to test this. I'm subbed and will follow along.

 

[Oldbear]

Hi Sue, thank you for your message & I think you're right. The obsession with fatter buds with ever increasing THC% to make higher profits, may have caused the roots/healing options to be overlooked.

I grow in 10cm pots so the root sample I used was manageable. I will consider bigger pots to increase the root yield in future as CBD is my goal but I can imagine bigger pots being a lot more work to get the roots from.

With the sample I used for this experiment, I gently shook off the coco from the roots & rinsed the rest off (as much as possible). There came a point, when although I was rinsing under water gently, the smaller roots were being washed away, so there was still a small amount of coco (none in test samples though) when I stopped.
That was my first time of washing roots & now I'll work out a more efficient way to do it.
I hung the roots, still attached to the stem in a drying box for a week.
If results of the first test had been low or inconclusive, I would have crushed the roots and taken another reading.
After the test results, I didn't see the need to crush the roots & run another test.
After the first test on the roots, the analyzer was reset and a known sample was tested to check accuracy. The root sample was then re-tested with the same results. (0.2% variation but this is to be expected & within acceptable parameters).
I hope that helps Sue?

Thanks for this. Very interesting information.