Comparison of Cannabis sativa by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and HPLC of cannabinoids: a preliminary study.

Methods are described for the HPLC and genetic analysis of herbal Cannabis sativa. The latter method was applied to 17 plants grown simultaneously, at the same site. Sixteen of these samples were also compared using HPLC, which resulted in differentiation of the plants into 3 groups. Within two of these groups, the members could not be distinguished. By RAPD analysis, using certain combinations of primers and cladistic analysis, differentiation was possible between all but two of the plants. The use of the RAPD technique enables differentiation between samples that cannot be differentiated by HPLC analysis alone.