What is Cannabidiol (CBD Oil)?

CBD is 1 of 113 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant and accounts for up to 40% of the plants extract. What does CBD oil stand for? CBD oil stands for cannabidiol. It’s a natural occurring substance that’s used in products like oils and edibles to impart a feeling of relaxation and calm. Unlike it’s cousin, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the active ingredient. CBD and THC are the main cannabinoids in the hemp plant.

How doe’s CBD work?

Cannabidiol works by entering the body and connecting to receptors. These receptors are called CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptor plays the role in helping with health and disease, cardiovascular and motor control and are primarily located on nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Whereas CB2 receptors helps with the immune system by managing pain and inflammation. CB2 receptors are mainly found on white blood cells, in the tonsils and in the spleen.

The receptors work through something called the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is a molecular system responsible for regulating and balancing many processes in the body, including immune response, communication between cells, appetite and metabolism, memory and more. It is through this system of receptors and metabolic enzymes that cannabinoids interact with the human body and trigger beneficial effects. The endocannabinoid system was only recently discovered, and its full importance is still not known.

Can you get high from CBD oil?

Unlike it’s cousin, CBD is non psychoactive, meaning it will not get you ‘high’. THC (CBD’s cousin) is the cannabinoid that everyone links with the ‘high’ sensation, which is psychoactive. Therefore, CBD oil will not get you high, it’s THC that gets you high.

Is CBD oil legal in the UK?

In the UK, cannabidiol (CBD) is classed as legal as long as it contains no more than 0.2% THC, which is a controlled substance under the Misuse of drugs Act 1971. It must also be derived from an industrial hemp strain that is EU-approved or comes from outside the EU.

How do you use cannbidiol (CBD) oil?

Cannabidiol (CBD oil) can be used in many ways, sublingual products, vapes and smoking, edibles and topicals.

Sublingual Products – These products are designed to be absorbed under your tongue. They include tinctures, which is a solution made by cannabidiol (CBD) been extracted into a powder then mixed into an oil, they can be used in sprays, oils, and lozenges. Sublingual products can take around a week to feel the full benefits (that doesn’t mean you won’t feel any effects straight away) but these give you longer and better effects in the long run.

Vapes and smoking – High cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis flower can be smoked in a joint, a vaporizer with a cartridge or inhale cannabidiol (CBD) concentrates. Vaping and smoking allow the CBD to go directly into your bloodstream, meaning the effects will start right away.

Edibles – Edibles have a great variety from gummies to mints, and all are a great way to try cannabidiol (CBD). When CBD is digested, it is partially broken down by the river and digestive tract and can take up to 2 hours to kick in. You’ll only absorb about 20 to 30 percent of it, bearing in mind CBD edibles are normally already low in CBD.

Topicals – CBD Topicals include things such as balms, creams, salves and transdermal patches, they are designed to be applied directly to your skin. Topicals are a great choice for treating localized pain or skin conditions such as eczema.

How quickly does Cannabidiol work?

Cannabidiol works differently for every person and every products takes a different time to affect someone. These are estimated times the CBD should take too affect people.

Sublingual products – 7+ Days

Vapes and smoking – Almost instantly

Edibles – 2 to 3 hours

Topicals – 6 -8 hours

How CBD Oil is Made.

CBD oil is made in two steps. Extraction of the plant and then mixed into a carrier oil in order for the CBD to reach your receptors. Below it will explain each possible method known to make CBD.

Extraction Methods

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extraction

Using supercritical carbon dioxide to separate the CBD oil from the plant material. “Supercritical” also sometimes referred to as Supercritical Fluid Extraction is where CO2 containing properties of both a liquid and a gas state. During CO2 extraction, a series of pressurized chambers and pumps are used to expose CO2 to high pressure and very low temperatures, resulting in an extracted oil containing high amount of CBD.

1. One chamber holds pressurized CO2, whilst the second chamber will be pressurized whilst holding the hemp plant, this is the start of the extraction.
2. The CO2 is then pumped from the first to the second chamber. The oil will separate from the plant material as the supercritical CO2 will break down the hemp in the chamber.
3. The CO2 and oil will be pumped into a third chamber, to which then the gas will evaporate, which will leave an extract of pure CBD oil behind.

CO2 extraction is the safest and the most efficient way to extract CBD as it can extract as much as 92% of CBD. However, the specialized machinery is very expensive, but it is the most preferred way of extracting CBD. Another reason to why this is the most preferred way is that manufacturers can simply adjust the ratio of solvent and pressure to achieve the desired concentration of CBD.

Steam Distillation

In this method, steam causes the CBD oil to separate from the hemp plant. With an inlet and an outlet, the hemp plant is contained in a glass flask.  The outlet connects to a condenser tube whilst the inlet connects to another glass container, beneath the plant flask, and contains water that is set to boil.

1. The steam travels upwards into the plant flask, as the water heats up, separating the oil vapours that contain CBD.
2. In a tube the vapours are captured which condenses them into oil and water.
3. The oil and water mixture are distilled to extract the CBD oil from the water, once collected.

The steam distillation method has been used to extract essential oils for centuries. It has truly been tried and is true however its less preferred than CO2 extraction due to its inefficiency. Also, this method uses significantly larger amounts of hemp plant. It is also more difficult to extract exact amounts of CBD concentration. Also is the steam gets too hot, it can damage the extract and alter the chemical properties of the cannabinoids it contains.

Solvent Extraction

This CBD extraction method is similar to steam distillation. However instead of using water it uses solvents instead to separate the CBD oil from the plant material. This creates a mixture of CBD oil with solvents. The solvent then evaporates, leaving pure CBD oil. Hydrocarbons or natural solvents are what this method normally uses. Solvent extraction is more efficient and cheaper than steam distillation. However, the solvents used in hydrocarbon extraction, such as butane, propane and petroleum create a great concern. As the solvent residue if not fully eliminated in the evaporation step can increase one’s risk of cancer.

However, to avoid the risk of toxic residue, natural solvents such as olive oil or ethanol can be used for the extraction. These solvents are just as effective but remove the risk of toxin residue. However, chlorophyll may also be extracted when using natural solvents which can result in an unpleasant taste. The main problem with natural solvents is that they don’t evaporate very well, which means the CBD extract contains lower concentration of CBD than any other method.

So, what is the best extraction method for CBD?

So now you’ve read about the different CBD extraction methods, which do you think is best? We personally at CBD Pharm recommend CO2 extraction, as it is the safest, most efficient and gives the highest concentration of CBD, resulting the best quality product. Also we at CBD Pharm personally use CO2 extraction meaning our customers get the safest and best quality product. CBD extraction methods are not recommended to be used at home.

Carrier Oils

What are CBD carrier oils?  Why not just sell pure CBD? Pure CBD (CBD isolate), forms a white powder. Not only would it be extremely difficult to measure out a serving of CBD isolate grain by grain, but more importantly, your body wouldn’t be able to process the majority of the CBD you take in. For this reason, CBD is often infused into oil-based solutions, where it binds with fat molecules your body is already prone to breaking down. Once the CBD is evenly distributed throughout the oil, it is possible to evenly measure consistent amounts of CBD that your body can process.

What makes an oil the best carrier oil?

Bioavailability is the biggest concern when determining the best carrier oil. Bioavailability, refers to the proportion of CBD your body can process to the amount taken in. CBD’s bioavailability is largely determined by the types of fat molecules contained in the carrier oil. There are many different types of fat, and the way they vary on a molecular level affects how well it can transport CBD into your system. Besides bioavailability, individual differences between oils such as flavour, consistency, and cost may affect their viability as carrier oils. In this blog we will do pros and cons for each available carrier oils.

Top 6 Carrier Oils

Number 1: Fractionated Coconut Oil

Coconut oil naturally excels as a carrier oil in several categories. Coconut Oil has no flavour, which makes it a great choice for making tinctures. Additionally, it is thinner than most oils, making it easy to measure. Coconut oil has natural antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties.

However, the best part about coconut oil is its variety of saturated fats, particularly medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Medium chain triglycerides are smaller fat molecules which are easily absorbed by the body, directly through the liver. Fractionated coconut oil is simply just coconut oil which has had the longer fat molecules removed to isolate the medium chain triglycerides. For this reason, fractionated coconut oil is also known as MCT oil which is one of the best carrier oils for CBD.

Number 2: Palm Oil

MCT oil can be made using Palm oil just like coconut oil. That is because MCT oil is a somewhat general term which refers to the type of fat molecules in an oil, not the natural source of the oil. This is an important distinction because palm oil’s manufacturing process is often connected to deforestation, animal cruelty, and climate change. This is the reason it is more eco-friendly to use coconut MCT oil.

Number 3: Olive Oil

This oil has a fruity taste which can be sometimes recognisable. Also olive oil tends to be thicker which can affect the measuring process. Monounsaturated fats are the premier fat molecules in olive oil, generally in the form of oleic acid. These larger fat molecules need to be processed further which could decrease the amount of CBD your body absorbs. However, oleic acid may help reduce inflammation and olive oil is packed with antioxidants.

Number 4: Avocado Oil

Like olive oil, avocado oil has high concentrations of oleic acid, however, it is much thicker, which can cause a problem when measuring the oil. Avocado oil has a nutty taste which can affect the CBD taste. Avocado oil is often chosen for topical applications due to its slow drying time and abundance of vitamins A, D, & E. However Avocado oil is one of if not the most expensive oils on this list.

Number 5: Hemp Seed Oil

Even though everyone thinks this is the perfect mix with CBD isolate it isn’t as it is generally inefficient carrier of CBD on its own.  To reach its full potential, it must be mixed with oils with higher bioavailability, such as MCT oil. That is why we add fractionated coconut oil to our full spectrum tinctures.

Another thing to note is that some companies try to pass hemp seed oil as being the same as CBD oil, which is far from true, so make sure you are buying a product with verified levels of CBD in it. Any reputable CBD company should clearly display the amount of CBD in their products.

Number 6: Grape Seed Oil

Grape seed oil is thin and has a wine-like aroma. It is isn’t very greasy, so grapeseed oil is often incorporated into skin and hair products. However grape seed mainly consists of polyunsaturated fats which means it isn’t the best CBD carrier oil.