I recently came across a budder/ wax like concentrate that was bright red like shale/cherry oil, but the consistency of hash oil. The guy explained that it was due to a natural occurring terpene/chemical only found in certain strains, but I have heard that dabs can change Color to a red due to the chlorophyll levels can anyone elaborate? I'd like to know how it was made.
I have seen this happen before my eyes - yellow extract change to red, but I was the cause. First of all, when you shine a red light on the wall you get red. Shine a green light on the wall and you get green. Now converge the two colors so they overlap: you get yellow where they overlap.
When I take yellow dispensary extract and remove the green I get red. I accomplish this is a myriad of ways, however the one that will seem like magic before your eyes is through a special filtration.
I first soak and disolve the extract in the solvent with the closest polarity to water of any other commonly used solvent, methanol. Once disolved the extract immediately begins to denature (proteins present unravel and appear as cloudy lumps). Over all the extract is mostly leaning toward the yellow side at this point.
Then I pack a Buchner funnel with a glass frit in it with Aluminum Oxide (alumina), and use a vacuum to pull methanol through the media to pre wet it. Then I dump the disolved yellow extract and methanol mix on top and pull it through. When it goes into the white Alumina it is yellow. When it exits it is red. My conclusion is the green component, likely chlorophyll present in tiny amounts, cannot pass the alumina barrier when applied this way. Yellow minus green equals red.
It would make sense to equate the presence or absence of terpenes as the cause for such a radical change, because the presence or absence of a particular terp might also be indicative of how much chlorophyl remains in the extract.
Another way to turn yelow extract red is to destroy the chlorophyl in place. To do this, I place the extract in a small beaker and cook it very slow over low heat. The vapor that rises is generally heavy pine scent at first. As the pine scent wanes the oil takes on a red hue. Again, when the chlorophyl breaks down from heat and stops being green, the yellow turns to red.
I was always puzzled by the change to red from otherwise pristine looking yellow shatter when I cooked it. However the cooked product that some call cherry oil is absolutely my favorite of all types. It is not the most stoney but by far it is the most satisfying to me.
As far as exactly which component is naturally red I have no method to test this, but in general most extracts will darken towards red the more they are cooked, or as in the case of alumina that I use for chromatography, when the chlorophyl is otherwise removed.
If you come across red product my hunch is that it is substantially similar to the other products in a typical dispensary but care has been taken to avoid chlorophyl extraction, OR it has been processed for greater purity.
