Beyond Terpenes - are any labs testing for esters?

I’m having trouble finding labs that test for esters - I know that Steep Hill doesn’t - in fact, the person I talked to over there didn’t even know what they were.

Any suggestions for more advanced testing in California?

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@marco @savino @LabOwner

Anybody offer this service in California?

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I feel this is a topic that isn’t really talked about. For the rest of us can you tell us what are esters?

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Sure. Esters are the chemicals responsible for a lot of the sweet, fruity flavors in cannabis. They have a very difficult set of aroma qualities vs. terpenes.

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Right on. Still located in the glandular trichrome head?

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That’s a really, really good question.

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I’m in Colorado, but we’re going to look into where we could source the standards.

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I found this great, little article as a supplement to your perfect summary:

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Esters are also responsible for a lot of the pleasant aromas in fruits. Some can be artificially synthesized in a laboratory (I made artificial banana flavoring in one of my undergraduate labs) via a process known as esterification.

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Artificial banana flavor, the most controversial of all artificial fruit flavors! I bet yours was wonderful and much more natural.

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Oh it was certainly not natural. :stuck_out_tongue: The starting products smelled of feet and acid.

Then the most wonderful smelling flavor from it all.

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@blerer1 do you have any insight on this?

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It’s all depends on the standards the lab is using in the terpenes testing process. If those anlytes are included in the standard then yes the instrument can detect does. Lab needs to find a standard MFC that will Include those anlytes in the standard but if there is no demand for it then it’s not available. Hope this help

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Maybe you should contact a brewery, or a brew chemist. I believe the impact of different esters on beer flavor are fairly well understood, and studied.

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I know @marco and @savino ! They would know if anyone would!

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@EthanThePharmacist, do you have any insight on this topic?

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If anyone has the information or technology to test esters in cannabis, it is probably Eybna, an israeli company. I believe they are the company that have the standards for testing all 144 characterized cannabinoids. Israeli companies are the only ones who have done that level of detailed analysis. I have an email address for Avichai Elbaz at Eybna but he is a marketing communication manager: avichai@eybna.com . However, he may be able to direct you to someone who could help.
There are so few companies who even have standards (i.e. pure samples) that allow you do accurate chemistry measurements on cannabis extracts at a truly detailed level.

Ethan

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Thanks so much for the quick reply and the great explanation. Also, thanks for the link to Avichai!

I knew we could count on you!

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@EybnaTechnologies you are being called upon!

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