Importance of Lab Testing

Lab Testing: The Key to Providing Clean, Safe Products

It is fundamental for consumers to understand why testing is essential to

guaranteeing the purity, potency and composition of their medicine.

 

Why is Testing so Important?

The main reason testing is so important is to confirm that a product is free of any

toxic material that could be harmful, especially to someone with a compromised

immune system. These toxic materials include - heavy metals, pesticides, mold,

bacteria or other microbes & microorganisms. The presence of these compounds

can result in infection and even exacerbate the negative symptoms of a patient’s

condition in extreme cases.

 

As hemp and cannabis plants are excellent accumulators of the various

compounds found in their growing soil, they must be carefully cultivated in optimal

conditions to avoid any chance of contamination that could taint the final 

Product.

 

At GnomeGrown, we are proud to have all of our products meticulously tested by a

third-party laboratories - ACS Laboratories & Medicine Creek Analytics - to

ensure that we are providing safe, high quality medicine to our clients.

In this piece, we will explain what each part of our test is checking for, and what

that means for consumers.

 

Cannabinoid Profile

Perhaps the most well-documented component of testing - verifying the number of

cannabinoids present and the concentration of each cannabinoid. Many tests only

provide data for THC and CBD, but there are over 100 other cannabinoids that can

also be found in the cannabis and hemp plants. Our lab tests, we show the

percentage - the overall total amount of each cannabinoid by weight - and the

concentration of the tincture. - how much of each cannabinoid is contained in

milligrams per milliliter.

 

What this means is that patients and clients can easily and quickly check the ratios

that are most suited to treating their ailment or condition and know how highly

concentrated the formulation is. This allows patients to accurately titrate their

dosage to suit their needs, which is often one of the most difficult parts of using

cannabis medicine effectively.

 

Terpene Profile

Terpenes are the fragrant oils found abundantly in plants, spices and roots; and

comprise the second group of beneficial compounds in our tinctures. Just as the

cannabinoid profile refers to the number, distribution and concentration of

cannabinoids, the terpene profile represents the same data for this set of

compounds. Due to the synergistic nature of terpenes and cannabinoids, they are

often able to act as enhancers, thereby increasing the medical potential of

cannabinoids. Scientists have referred to this as the ‘entourage effect’ or the

‘ensemble effect’ to demonstrate the complementary nature of these two types of

Compounds.

 

While terpene tests are gradually becoming more commonplace,

we pride ourselves on being one of the first wellness brands to provide a detailed

breakdown of the 35 most prevalent terpenes found in hemp and cannabis.

 

Element Analysis

This comprises the first section of our lab report that details the undesirable

compounds that can remain in cannabis and hemp derived medicine, primarily a

group of elements known as ‘heavy metals’.

Presence of these metals can sometimes come from circumstances outside the

cultivator’s control, such as environmental pollution, but for indoor cultivation it is

usually a result of the fertilizers and pesticides used. As hemp is very efficient at

absorbing everything through its root system, this can mean that plants processed

into concentrated extracts - such as tinctures, oils and ointments - can end up with

unsafe levels of heavy metals in them. The most dangerous of these have limits

measured in micrograms - 1 billionth of a kilogram - and are well-known toxins,

such as Arsenic, Lead, Mercury and Cadmium.

​

Pesticide Analysis

A component of testing that becomes ever more important as consumers educate

themselves on what goes into the production of their medicines, pesticides

became a serious concern after reports of California patients receiving

contaminated cannabis emerged earlier this year. A number of the pesticides that

were commonly used in indoor cultivation have since been banned or more strictly

controlled. While pesticides are used to protect crops from insect and mite

infestations, the chemicals contained within can be harmful if consumed. Once

again, what is deemed ‘acceptable’ levels of pesticide residues in finished product

varies from state to state, making it difficult for consumers to know if the medicine

they have access to is safe . Our testing lab in Massachusetts checks for 19

separate chemicals regularly found in pesticides, and we are proud to say that our

product tests well below the stated limits. The limits for pesticide chemicals is

listed in parts per billion, which indicates that even a nominal amount of chemical

residue can turn a potentially beneficial product into a dangerous one.

 

Volatile Organic Compounds & Solvents

This final part of the test is to check for solvent residue , where the extracts have

been created using a chemical carrier. We chose Ethanol as it provides one of the most complete ways of extracting the majority of the cannabinoids and terpenes in hemp and cannabis oils. Due to its relative safety index for human consumption, we felt it to be a better choice than hydrocarbons such as Butane or Propane.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the amount and intricacy of analysis we put our products through is

to provide the greatest level of transparency we can, to give our clientele

confidence that the products they purchase from us can be safely consumed and

do not contain any unknown noxious chemicals. As more brands emerge

with the same principles, together we will help elevate the standard of due diligence.