Abstract:A method for the simultaneous determination of trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabinoids in food by UPLC-MS/MS was developed. The sample was purified by methanol and the extract was purified by HLB solid phase extraction column. Athena C18- WP column (2.1×150 mm, 3 μm) was used to separatethe samples. The methanol-water was used as mobile phase gradient. The electrospray negative ion scanning and multiple reaction monitoring mode detection were employed. Matrix effects were eliminated by matrix labeling and quantified by THC-D3 internal standard method. The linear correlation coefficient (r2) of this method was greater than 0.999 in the concentration range of 0~10 μg/L. Cannabisdiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) had an LOD of 0.03 μg/kg and an LOQ of 0.1 μg/kg. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) had an LOD of 0.15 μg/kg and an LOQ of 0.5 μg/kg. The spiked recoveries of three cannabinoids in four different food matrices were investigated. Under the spiked levels of LOQ, 5 LOQ and 10 LOQ, the spiked recoveries of the three cannabinoids ranged from 81.1% to 114.7%. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 0.25% to 4.63% (n=6). The results showed that the method had good stability and high sensitivity, and was suitable for simultaneous determination of three cannabinoids in common food matrices.