Real Isolates was recently featured in a CannMed Coffee Talk episode focused on one of the most interesting emerging areas of cannabis chemistry: pyrocannabinoids.

The episode, titled Investigating Pyrocannabinoids and Cannabis Combustion with Kristofer Marsh, PhD, features a conversation with Dr. Kristofer Marsh of Smithers Cannabis Testing Services. The discussion explores how cannabinoids can change when exposed to high heat during smoking, combustion, dabbing, or vaping, and why those transformations may deserve more scientific attention.

What Are Pyrocannabinoids?

Pyrocannabinoids are cannabinoid-derived compounds that form when cannabinoids are exposed to high heat. In the context of cannabis, this can happen during smoking, combustion, dabbing, or vaping.

While cannabis smoke has been studied for decades, this conversation focuses on a more specific question: what happens when individual cannabinoid isolates are combusted?

Rather than looking only at flower, which contains cannabinoids, terpenes, lipids, waxes, cellulose, pigments, and other compounds, Dr. Marsh and collaborators looked at isolated cannabinoids as a more controlled way to study thermal transformation.

Real Isolates’ Role in the Research

During the episode, Dr. Marsh explains that the work was conducted in collaboration with Andy Westerkamp and the team at Real Isolates. He also notes that the term “pyrocannabinoids” was introduced in prior work involving Real Isolates and Colorado Chromatography.

A key part of the study involved Real Isolates’ selective capture technology. This process is designed to separate and capture compounds of interest from plant smoke, including cannabinoid and cannabinoid-like compounds, while helping researchers focus on the chemistry of the smoke-derived material.

For this research, the technology helped capture the compounds produced when cannabinoid isolates were combusted, allowing them to be analyzed and compared against the original isolates.

Studying THCA, CBD, and THCV Isolates

The study discussed in the episode focused primarily on THCA, CBD, and THCV isolates. According to Dr. Marsh, these cannabinoids were selected because of their commercial relevance, availability, and increasing use across cannabis and hemp products.

The results showed that combustion does not simply convert a starting cannabinoid into one predictable end product. For example, with THCA, many people may assume that combustion results almost entirely in delta-9 THC. However, the discussion explains that the chemistry is more complex.

After combustion, researchers observed multiple additional peaks in the analytical data, suggesting the presence of other degradation products, oxidative byproducts, and trace compounds. Some identified or discussed compounds included CBN, CBE, CBT, and CBND.

Why This Matters

This research raises important questions for cannabis science, product development, and analytical testing.

Cannabis products are often discussed based on their pre-consumption cannabinoid profile. However, when cannabis or cannabinoid-rich material is smoked or otherwise exposed to high heat, the profile that enters the body may be different from the original material.

That distinction matters because smoked cannabis, vaporized cannabis, edibles, tinctures, and other formats may not differ only because of how the body metabolizes them. They may also differ because the actual compounds being consumed are different.

As Dr. Marsh notes in the conversation, combustion can create a rich and complex mixture of compounds. Some may be potentially useful for future research, while others may be undesirable or harmful. The key takeaway is that more research is needed to better understand what is created during combustion and how those compounds may interact with the body.

A Growing Area of Cannabis Chemistry

For Real Isolates, this discussion reinforces the importance of studying the chemistry of smoke-derived cannabinoids with greater precision.

Pyrocannabinoid research is still in its early stages, but it may help answer important questions about cannabis consumption, product experience, cannabinoid transformation, and the differences between smoked and ingested cannabis products.

Real Isolates is proud to be part of this emerging scientific conversation and to support research that helps expand understanding of the compounds created through traditional and modern cannabis use methods.

Watch the Full Conversation

Watch the full CannMed Coffee Talk episode, Investigating Pyrocannabinoids and Cannabis Combustion with Kristofer Marsh, PhD, to learn more about pyrocannabinoids, cannabis combustion, and the role of Real Isolates’ selective capture technology in this area of research.