Does CBD Oil Really Work?

The title of this blog post is a question we hear frequently, and it is one we see people asking online all the time: does CBD oil really work? We understand where this question comes from. After all, the complete science and research on CBD oil products are still out, and we do not fully understand how CBD, or cannabidiol, interacts with the body to have the effects that it does. Despite that, we do know that people from all over the world have reported what using CBD oil has done for them–supporting the body’s management of everything from chronic pain to dementia.

What we want to do in this post is to take a closer look at the question of whether CBD oil really works. We know what people say about it every day, but we are interested in what their claims about CBD’s health benefits really mean.

What Is CBD?

We always like to take the time to explain what CBD is in our posts. The definition and explanation of the substance will serve as the basis for everything we describe later.

Cannabidiol is a chemical compound that is derived from the plant Cannabis sativa. This is the same plant from which the drug marijuana is produced. However, before we start to conflate CBD with marijuana or “getting high,” it must be known that CBD is not a psychoactive substance in any way. Marijuana contains another cannabinoid–or Cannabis sativa-derived substance–called THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. It is THC that affects the mind and provides users with the “high” of consuming marijuana.

CBD, meanwhile, is the non-psychoactive, non-addictive part of the plant that is extracted and used in all sorts of CBD products, including oils, edibles, and tinctures.

Does CBD Really Affect the Body?

Research and anecdotal evidence suggests that the answer to the above question is “yes.” CBD does interact with the human body in unique ways. The reason it is able to do this is because the body possesses an endocannabinoid system that allows cannabinoids to bind to it and have real effects on us. Given that the endocannabinoid system deals in bodily functions such as sleeping, staving off disease, and managing inflammation and pain, CBD can support the body in these areas.

So, Does CBD Oil Really Work?

The information we have covered to this point consists of basic facts about Cannabis sativa and CBD. The question we now need to answer is whether CBD oil actually works, for example, to support the body’s management of inflammation, pain, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of conditions such as heart disease, cancer, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

As we have stated, research is still being done on the effects of CBD on the body, but it is also worth noting that people have been using CBD and other cannabinoids for thousands of years to support their body’s defenses against disease.

Inflammation and Pain

Many people take CBD oil for inflammation and pain. What has science had to say on that area so far? A study published in 2015 in the European Journal of Pain discusses scientists who had applied topical CBD to arthritic rats over several days. Sure enough, the rats eventually showed signs of decreased inflammation and pain from the arthritis.

This is the same story we hear anecdotally from people all the time. Many who take CBD oil to support their bodies in pain management say it has helped them to feel better over time. However, since laboratory research is still being done on this and all aspects of CBD, you should consult with your doctor first on whether CBD is the right option for handling your pain.

Anxiety

Other people might take CBD edibles or other kinds of products for anxiety. Given that around 40 million U.S. adults suffer from some kind of anxiety, it is worth looking into CBD’s potential effects on this condition. Research into this area, as with inflammation and pain, has focused on rat test subjects. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that CBD was able to support the rats’ bodies in reducing stress and anxiety. Researchers determined this by the rats’ behaviors, which displayed improved symptoms such as lowered heart rates.

Although substantial human research on CBD and anxiety has yet to be done, we do also see anecdotal evidence that CBD oil can indeed support the body’s efforts to reduce anxiety.

Multiple Sclerosis

As with pain and anxiety, the human research into CBD use for people with multiple sclerosis is limited. Multiple sclerosis is a brain and nerve condition that can cause intense muscle spasms and pain. A 2017 article published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information indicated that even short-term CBD ingestion showed a slight decrease in symptoms of multiple sclerosis in people.

Browse Our CBD Oil Products Online

What, then, is the answer to the question of whether CBD oil really works? The research done thus far on test animals and humans alike shows many positive indicators of CBD oil supporting the human body in pain and disease management. As with any handling of medical conditions, however, it is vital that you consult with your doctor on how you can introduce CBD oil into your life. It could very well be the difference you are looking for.

Phytodabs wants to be there to help. We offer a range of CBD products–including CBD dabs, tinctures, oil drops, and edibles–so you can access the form that is most convenient for you. Contact us with any questions about our products, and we will be happy to assist you with whatever you need.

With the use of CBD, or cannabidiol, rising exponentially in the United States, we have seen many groups express interest in what this product can do for them. People with chronic pain, epilepsy, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and anxiety or depression can do some quick online research and see all kinds of claims that CBD can benefit them. In fact, CBD has been shown to be able to support the body in its efforts to combat some of the symptoms of those conditions.

Another group of people that arises in discussions of CBD is athletes. This makes sense. Athletes regularly put their bodies through a great deal of strain and so are subject to suffering from increased wear and tear as compared to non-athletes. Injuries sustained during competition can lead to significant inflammation and pain that lasts many years or can be lifelong. In other cases, athletes may simply be looking for ways to put their bodies through more strain, either in working out or actually competing.

So, can athletes benefit from using CBD oil products or other forms of CBD? We are going to address this issue here.

How Does CBD Interact with the Body?

On the Phytodabs blog, we have written much about what CBD is and how it can affect people. That information merits another mention here so readers know what we are referring to when we discuss athletes using CBD.

Cannabidiol is a chemical compound that comes from the Cannabis sativa plant. People use it primarily in the area of pain management. Research is being done on CBD all the time, but it is believed that CBD binds to receptors in the body’s endocannabinoid system when ingested. That system controls functions such as memory, mood, and inflammation. It is believed that the endocannabinoid system being out of balance causes problems such as pain and anxiety. CBD, then, is presumed to support the body’s efforts to reduce inflammation and stress by balancing the system.

How Can Athletes Benefit from CBD?

Given what people report about CBD’s ability to support their bodies in reducing inflammation and pain, the potential CBD benefits for athletes might seem obvious. However, it is important to note that any athlete considering taking CBD should consult with a doctor before making any decisions. Readers should also know that one athlete’s experience with CBD may not reflect another’s experience.

Here are four ways that CBD may benefit athletes.

CBD May Support Anti-Inflammation

Inflammation, we know, is one of the major causes of pain and other medical conditions in the human body. Some inflammation and pain might be only a slight inconvenience to the average person, but to an athlete, inflammation can mean the difference between playing in a game and being forced to sit out.

When ingested, CBD may support the body’s efforts to eliminate such inflammation. It is believed CBD does this by binding to endocannabinoid receptors and essentially relaxing the immune system’s response to the physical strain of playing sports. When this is the case, athletes may find they can train and play harder or recover more quickly from strenuous workouts.

CBD May Help with Muscle Recovery

We just mentioned how CBD may be able to support athletes in their workout efforts. Whether you’re an athlete who lifts weights and exercises in other ways or just someone who enjoys regular strength training, you likely have gotten frustrated at the time you have to spend just allowing your sore muscles to recover. Of course, pushing your muscles to their limit helps them to grow, but muscle soreness also forces you to wait around for those muscles to feel better again.

This is why some athletes use CBD cream for pain. Using CBD may help to support your muscle recovery by reducing the damage that is done lifting those weights or otherwise working out. Athletes–or anyone interested in weight lifting and exercise–who don’t need to spend as much time letting their muscles recover are able to get back to lifting weights in the gym, thereby helping their progress along more efficiently.

CBD May Help Athletes to Sleep More Restfully

Since we are speaking of muscle recovery, it is important that we mention the importance of sleep to any athlete. Sleep is where the human body does much of its recovering from fatigue, strains, sprains, soreness, pain, and other afflicting conditions.

Athletes who struggle with falling or staying asleep due to these types of physical problems may find some support in CBD. That’s because CBD is believed to support the brain’s efforts in slowing down before sleep and making you feel calmer. More and better sleep can go a long way toward helping hard-working athletes to recover from previous workouts and to up their games for what lies ahead.

CBD May Support Athlete Relaxation

Of course, any article focusing on CBD and athletes must mention CBD’s ability to support the body’s efforts to combat anxiety. Athletes obviously need to direct most of their energies to exercising, staying healthy, and performing strongly on the court or field. However, most sports feature some aspect of publicity, in which crowds of people watch what is happening. This can lead to the athletes developing performance anxiety, which may affect how they compete.

Just as with sleep, CBD can support efforts within the body to keep the mind calm and not get overworked by anxiety and stress. Playing well in sports can be as much about physical wellness as it is about mental wellness, which is why it is important to address any such performance anxiety in a way that works for you.

Browse Our Collection of CBD Products Online

Phytodabs is here to assist athletes looking to support their physical activities with CBD. The products in our inventory–including oil, tinctures, dabs, and topical creams–may help athletes to do that. The diversity of our CBD products online ensures that our customers can select the right CBD product for them and their circumstances.

Be sure to contact us with any questions on our products!

If you’re interested in buying CBD products, you’ve likely got a lot of questions. Even those who have been using CBD products for years still want to know more about the industry. One question many people tend to have when it comes to buying CBD products is how to tell whether or not the products they’re buying are good quality. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult to find answers to your questions, which might make people wary of trying or buying CBD products. The CBD industry has grown rapidly in just a short period of time and it’s continuing to grow, and while there’s research still being done, there’s also a lot of misinformation floating that can be confusing for consumers.

Buying quality CBD products isn’t as easy as just looking at a product and knowing it’s good. There is a little bit of research you should do if you want to know the quality of a CBD product before you use it. However, there are a few key things that consumers can look for when buying a CBD product to know that what they’re getting is high-quality. Before you buy a CBD product, here are a few things to look into first to be sure you’re buying quality products. 

Where is the Hemp Sourced?

This is a question you need to ask whenever you’re buying CBD products. Of course, you can’t have good quality CBD if the hemp it’s being derived from isn’t good quality itself. The quality of hemp can often come down to how it’s farmed, which can vary greatly from place to place. Good soil is the key to growing good-quality hemp that you can get the best CBD from. Unfortunately, good soil can’t be found on every farm. One of the major concerns of growing hemp is the presence of heavy metals in the soil. These heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, can then be transferred into the hemp as it’s grown. Others use toxins like pesticides that can be harmful to hemp and result in unsafe and low-quality CBD. Even if the farm hemp is grown on doesn’t use pesticides, if the neighboring farms use it, it still puts the hemp at risk. When buying CBD, look for companies that mention where their hemp is grown. 

Lab Testing Results

The only way for companies to know for sure if the products they’re selling are good quality is if the CBD is being tested in a lab. There are a variety of different tests companies need to do to prove that their hemp is safe and good quality. Lab tests are a clear way of seeing that a product is of good quality. If a company doesn’t have lab results available on its website, you should take this as a sign not to buy from them. As mentioned above, toxins in the soil are a huge health concern when it comes to growing hemp and these lab results help to show that their products don’t contain these heavy metals or pesticides. CBD also needs to be tested for mold and microbes which should be shown on the lab results. Another concern many people have when buying CBD products is that it will end up containing more THC than it’s legally allowed to have. The amount of THC in CBD products will be shown on the lab results, so you don’t need to worry it containing too much.

Transparency from the Company

When it comes to any health and wellness product, especially those that have recently gained a lot of popularity, there’s going to be companies looking for ways to sell it. In order to do this, many make medical claims about how these products can benefit your health and some CBD companies are no different. When shopping for CBD products, you might run into a few companies that seem like they aren’t being transparent and providing customers with important information. Many people have praised CBD for what it’s done for their health, and while there’s the chance it’s true, what CBD can do is still being tested, so no one can make guarantees. Just because a company tells you their CBD products can do something specific for your health, doesn’t mean their products are low quality, but you should be aware they’re making promises they can’t keep. If you feel like you aren’t able to trust a company, it might be best to find somewhere else to buy CBD products. 

Trust Where You’re Buying CBD From

Buying CBD shouldn’t cause you any stress and you should be able to feel comfortable about doing it. At PhytoDabs, we understand how important it is to gain the trust of customers so that they can be excited about buying new CBD products. We offer a wide range of products and you can feel confident in their quality. 

The CBD industry gaining more attention is an extremely exciting time for those who use it or are interested in getting into it. There’s a lot we can learn about what CBD can do and how we can use it, including the different ways to consume it. If you’re new to the world of CBD, you might not know what to try first. Even if you’ve been using CBD products for a while, you might be looking for suggestions on what to try next. It might seem difficult to pick what CBD product to try because there are many different ways you can consume it. 

Check out these ways that you can use CBD. 

Oil & Tinctures

CBD oil and tinctures are some of the most well-known forms of consuming CBD. Many people mistakenly think they’re different names for the same product, but there are some differences between them. While their makeups may differ, the way you use the two products are still very similar. The easiest way of consuming oils and tinctures is by putting CBD drops under your tongue. You can do this with both products, but many tend to prefer the taste of tincture over oils due to the additives. However, it’s important to know if the product you have is CBD oil or tinctures if you’re planning on consuming it in ways other than putting it under your tongue. For example, adding CBD oil to food or drinks may alter it, so tinctures are often better for this and CBD oil can sometimes be used for vapes, whereas tincture can’t due to the additives.

Capsules/Pills

The taste of CBD oil is unpleasant for many people, and while tinctures can taste much better, it still might not be right for some people. If you’re concerned about taking oils or tinctures, CBD capsules and pills could be the ideal solution. Soft gels or pills are made with CBD oil concentrate, allowing you to take CBD oil without dealing with the taste. A pill or capsule is one of the easiest ways to take CBD oil and is no different than swallowing any of the other pills you’ve taken. An additional bonus of using capsules and pills is that you’re getting a premeasured amount, so there’s no guesswork to tell if you’re taking the recommended dosage. 

Dabs

While dabs have become a popular way of consuming CBD, this type of CBD product isn’t as straightforward as the others and requires some extra work and supplies to use. CBD dabs are a highly concentrated form of pure CBD. There are several different types of dabs, with the most common being wax, which is a sticky substance that closely resembles regular wax. The different CBD dabs available are all very similar with the exception of their texture and appearance, a few other types being more glass-like or closer to a honeycomb. Dabs are consumed by heating water used to turn the dab into a vapor, and then inhaling the vapors. 

Gummies

If you’re looking for a fun way of taking CBD, gummies are perfect. Anyone who’s taken gummy vitamins in the past will already be familiar with how a CBD gummy works. CBD gummies are simply gummy snacks that contain CBD oil. There are a wide variety of options out there when it comes to CBD gummies and you’ll likely be able to find them in your favorite type of gummy snack, whether it’s gummy bears or gummy worms. Since they contain CBD oil, you might be able to slightly taste it, although the added flavors are often enough to mask it. 

Treats for the pets

CBD isn’t just for humans, you can also buy it for your pet, whether or a cat person or a dog person. You can give your pet a CBD treat the same way you would give them their other favorite treats. Many people believe that CBD can support some of the same health benefits it’s speculated to have for humans. However, just like CBD being used for humans, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no data about how CBD can benefit your pets. 

Creams and Topicals

While the exact benefits of CBD are unknown, there is the chance it can support healthy skin. Because of this, applying a CBD topical to the skin has become a popular way of using it. For certain issues, some think that CBD can be most effective when applied topically, rather than being consumed internally. This would be similar to applying a topical treatment to a rash or using a product on your face. You might automatically assume a CBD cream would only be used for skin issues like acne, but some believe it can support relief for arthritis. 

Vapes

Over the past few years, vaping has really taken off and has gained a lot of popularity, so it isn’t surprising that this is a common way of consuming CBD today. If you vape CBD, it will be the same process as any other time you vape. Vaping CBD also allows you to absorb it faster, which is why many people use this method. However, if you do choose to vape CBD, it’s important to make sure you’re buying CBD products that are specifically meant to be vaped to ensure you’re doing it safely.

For the uninitiated, there is likely some confusion about how cannabidiol, or CBD, differs from tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Since we at PhytoDabs manufacture, market, and sell a variety of CBD products, we see it as our duty to explain, to those who don’t know, what CBD is and how it differs from THC. The distinction is vital because each substance can affect one’s body completely differently.

In general terms, CBD and THC are two types of cannabinoids–or chemical compounds that are found naturally in the Cannabis sativa plant. For the sake of detail in this post, it is also worth mentioning that, although CBD and THC are distinct cannabinoids, they both come from a parent substance called cannabigerol, or CBG. When the acidic version of CBG, known as CBGA, breaks down, what is left is the base molecule that goes on to form CBD and THC.

The basic difference between CBD and THC is that CBD is used primarily as an anti-inflammatory support aid, while THC is the chemical found in marijuana that gives people the “high” commonly associated with that drug.

To all those interested in trying CBD to assist with pain management, know that our CBD products for sale at PhytoDabs are for medicinal use and will not affect your sense of perception.

Let’s now get into more detail about how CBD and THC differ, what they have in common, and how CBD can interact positively with your body’s management of inflammation.

How Are CBD and THC Similar?

The truly interesting aspect of CBD and THC is that, although they affect the human body differently, the compounds are actually quite similar.

Since they are both cannabinoids that derive from the same plant species, it is not all that surprising to learn that CBD and THC share an atomic structure: 21 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms make up each compound. What accounts for the difference in the compounds’ functions is a variation in how those atoms are arranged in each substance.

Both CBD and THC chemically resemble the substances found in the human body’s endocannabinoid system, which regulates functions such as memory, mood, and pain perception. This is why natural cannabinoids are able to affect our bodies at all.

What Is CBD?

Now that we know what links CBD and THC, let’s separate the two compounds and look into each a little more.

CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system in a way that can support your body’s efforts to eliminate inflammation and, by extension, pain. Research is being done all the time to discover the exact ways that CBD does this. The evidence thus far suggests that CBD helps to balance the endocannabinoid system, which loses its equilibrium in times of illness and disease. CBD can support the body’s efforts to right the ship, so to speak, and return the body to its natural, pain-free state.

Therefore, CBD has been shown to help support the pain and discomfort from physical and neurological conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, Crohn’s disease, chronic pain, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, anxiety, depression, diabetes, and PTSD. CBD as a cancer-fighting agent is still being investigated, but some anecdotal evidence points to the substance as having that ability.

CBD is available commercially to take as oil, tinctures, edibles, and topical products. You can buy CBD oil online with PhytoDabs, as we sell a range of CBD products meant to help you manage your pain.

Ahead of our discussion of THC, is it important to mention that CBD is not a psychoactive drug. When taken in amounts recommended by your doctor, it should not make you feel intoxicated or “high,” and it is non-addictive.

What Is THC?

Along with CBD, THC may also help the body to alleviate inflammation, pain, anxiety, muscle spasticity, and more. The only catch is that THC will tend to make one feel high at the same time. That’s because the chemical makeup of THC allows the compound to interact with receptors located primarily in the brain and spinal cord. When that happens, you will feel the intoxicating euphoria that is usually associated with ingesting THC-rich marijuana.

A minor degree of overlap exists between CBD and THC. As mentioned, THC may help to reduce the body’s pain and inflammation while also generating a “high” feeling. Similarly, high amounts of CBD can lend you a pleasant feeling of wellness. This overlap is due to the fact that either compound can combine with the other’s usual receptors in the body; nothing limits CBD to “these” receptors and THC to “those” receptors. However, each compound is far more likely to bind to its own usual set of receptors and do what it is known to do.

Order Your CBD Online with PhytoDabs

Phytodabs is one of the leading online retailers of CBD oil and other related products, including tinctures, wax crumbles, and gummies. The variety of our CBD online store is meant to provide you with enough options to choose the right product for your needs. Whether you need relief from epilepsy, anxiety, nerve pain, or another condition, know that CBD may be able to help your body to find relief. Just be sure to talk to your doctor before taking any CBD, since you should know what you are getting into before you do it.

Contact Phytodabs with any questions, and we will be happy to assist you.

With CBD oil and other CBD products becoming more popular, it’s important that we learn as much about it as we can so anyone who uses it is using it correctly. A crucial part of using CBD oil safely is knowing what makes up a high-quality CBD oil. Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies out there who aren’t taking the steps to produce high-quality CBD that make people wary over the industry as a whole. 

Since it’s still fairly new, the CBD industry is still relatively unregulated, which makes it easy for unsafe and low-quality CBD oil. Anyone who uses CBD oil needs to be caught up to speed about how to identify high-quality CBD oil. Using CBD oil is safe for most people, so long as it’s high quality. Here are a few things you can check to make sure the CBD oil you’re buying is safe.  

Where the Hemp is Grown

Like all plants, the quality of hemp depends largely on where it’s sourced from. You may already know the importance of how the fruit, vegetables, and other produce you buy are grown. Most people prefer to stay away from anything that could have been grown in soil that could be contaminated. This is something especially important to keep in mind when you shop for hemp extract. Hemp is a plant that can absorb what’s in the soil it’s being grown in, which means the quality can be ruined by bad soil. 

For high-quality CBD, hemp shouldn’t be grown on farms that use unsafe chemicals like pesticides. Toxins like this can spread through soil easier than many might think, which means that even if the farm hemp is grown on doesn’t use it, neighboring farms that do can still be contaminating the hemp. Soil can also contain harmful heavy metals, like lead and mercury, that can make hemp-derived CBD unsafe. 

The Amount of THC in CBD Oil

An extremely important detail to look for when shopping for a CBD oil, or any CBD product, is the amount of THC it contains. Despite the popularity of CBD, there are still many people who think it’s the same thing as THC, which is incorrect. THC is the psychoactive chemical in hemp plants that give people the “high” feeling associated with hemp. This mind-altering effect is something many dislikes about hemp and why some are hesitant to try CBD. While CBD is also a chemical derived from the hemp plant, it isn’t psychoactive, so it won’t leave you with a “high” feeling. Without the mind-altering aspect, those who use hemp-extract can experience the benefits that many claim it can support. 

However, it’s important to keep in mind that CBD oil does still contain a small amount of THC. All CBD products should have under 0.3% of THC, which is the highest amount they’re allowed to contain. But how can you know for sure they have 0.3% or less without just taking a company’s word for it? Companies that sell CBD oil and other products should have their lab tests available on their website to show consumers that their products are high in CBD but low in THC. This is also valuable information that can show whether or not their products contain other harmful chemicals or toxins. 

Look Out for Suspicious Companies

If you’ve looked at any CBD products, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a lot of the companies that make promises about all the things hemp extract can do for your health. While there are many out there who believe hemp extract has been able to support many different health benefits, not many studies have been done about it. So although there’s the chance it may be good for your health, a company can’t and shouldn’t promise customers that it can. Companies who make promises about what you can gain from using their CBD products are acting responsibly. While this alone doesn’t mean their CBD oils are low-quality, you should refrain from buying from companies that aren’t being truthful and transparent to consumers. If something feels like a scam, it’s best to just walk away from it. 

Shop Responsibly

CBD oil becoming more mainstream is an exciting time, especially as we learn more about its potential. With this period of exploration, there are many companies taking advantage of being unregulated and selling low-quality products. There’s no one way of telling whether or not a CBD oil is high-quality, so you have to do some research to know which companies and brands are reliable. 

At PhytoDabs, we take great pride in being able to provide our customers with high-quality CBD oil. We want our customers to know they’re getting the best products and that they’re buying from a company they can trust. If you have any questions about high-quality CBD oil, check out our FAQs or contact us to learn more.

If you pay any attention to the health and wellness industries, you’ve probably heard a lot about cannabidiol over the past few years. CBD is derived from hemp plants and has been used by multiple different cultures for centuries, although it’s recently gained a lot of attention. Nearly every state at this point has legalized different uses of CBD, making it easily accessible to many. As with any trend, there are a lot of questions about using CBD, as well as research to be done about its usage. 

The hype around CBD is huge because of the medical properties many claim hemp-extract has, although most of these claims are not yet proven. Naturally, there are many people who have trouble trusting CBD and view it as the same thing as marijuana, which is incorrect. On the other hand, some CBD enthusiasts think of it as a totally risk-free medicine, which is not always the truth when you buy CBD from some suppliers. 

Misinformation about CBD is everywhere, so many of you might be wondering whether or not it’s actually safe to use. Here, we can help answer the questions you have about using CBD.

So, is it Safe?

In general, hemp-derived CBD is safe to use. Many of the negative opinions about CBD come from a lack of understanding, but educating yourself is important for everyone as it becomes more popular. You’ve likely heard many of the claims people have made about what hemp-extract can do for your health. Since hemp-extract as a form of medicine is relatively new for us today, there isn’t enough information to say what exactly it will be able to help with. Right now, the FDA has approved one CBD drug that can help treat rare forms of epilepsy. Using hemp-extract may or may not be able to support some of the health benefits people associate with it, but it likely won’t hurt to try. There’s still a lot to be learned about using hemp-derived CBD, and while the benefits are yet to be proven, the risk for most people is very small. 

How to Get Safe CBD

As a consumer, it’s always best to do your research before you buy something, especially when it’s a health or wellness product. There are always new trends going on, some of which don’t deliver what they advertise, so it’s important to be aware of what to look for. People all over the country are interested in getting into CBD products, and many companies try to take advantage of that by selling low-quality products. Because of this, there are some concerns about CBD for consumers to be aware of.  While hemp-derived CBD is safe, it depends on the source you’re getting it from to be sure that you can trust it.

Since hemp is a plant, the farm it grows on can make a huge difference in the quality of it and whether or not it’s safe to use. When you buy fresh produce, how it was farmed can often impact where you buy from, which is a practice you should also follow when buying CBD. If hemp is grown in contaminated soil, the plant itself can be compromised, which in turn would affect the CBD that comes from it. Soil can become contaminated for a number of different reasons, so it’s important to buy from companies taking every precaution. Just a few things found in soil that could make CBD unsafe are heavy metals and pesticides. Even if a neighboring farm does anything that can contaminate the soil, this can still make the hemp being grown unsafe. There’s also the concern that CBD products contain a higher amount of THC and don’t make consumers aware. 

Buy CBD From a Reliable Company

If you’re buying CBD, buying it from a reliable company should be your priority. At Phytodabs, we know how important it is to be able to trust the companies you buy from. We work hard to ensure our customers are getting the highest-quality and safest hemp-derived CBD products. By keeping our farms protracted from any possible contaminants and away from farms that do use these contaminants, we’re able to provide you with products you can trust. We offer a wide variety of CBD products containing less than 0.3% THC. 

If you still have questions about CBD, be sure to contact us.

CBD oil is huge these days for its ability to support the body’s efforts to reduce chronic inflammation and pain. Many people are turning to CBD oil products and other forms of the compound as alternatives to traditional pain medications such as opioids.

One major advantage of the oil form of CBD, or cannabidiol, and other CBD products is that the substance is so versatile. People take CBD for anxiety and depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy and heart disease. Even the individual who suffers not from any of these problems but simply from chronic nerve pain may find relief in CBD.

How is this done? What does CBD oil do to interact with inflammation and pain in the body? And, most importantly, how can CBD oil improve your quality of life? Phytodabs explains it all below.

How CBD Affects Your Body

Before we discuss the various ways in which CBD can improve the quality of your life, we want to explain, as simply as we can, how CBD interacts with your body in the first place. Our intention is to provide you with the basic science behind CBD chemistry so you come out more educated than before.

CBD is a chemical compound that comes from the Cannabis sativa plant, or, more simply, cannabis. Hemp, one species of the cannabis plant, is used as the primary source for CBD extraction because the plant contains little to no THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound found in marijuana that makes people feel intoxicated. CBD, then, may also be known as hemp extract.

Once consumed, CBD begins interacting with the body’s endocannabinoid system to alleviate inflammation and pain. The system is the part of the human body that controls mood, memory, inflammation, and pain, among other functional areas. CBD influences receptors in the endocannabinoid system to relieve that inflammation. It has also been shown to alleviate distress, anxiety, and depression.

An increasing amount of people are coming to prefer CBD to traditional medications because CBD is all-natural, extracted directly from a plant. Compare CBD to opioids or other medications, which are all synthesized in laboratories.

Now that you know how CBD works in the body, let’s learn about the different ways that CBD can improve the quality of your life. Then, we will let you know how you can buy CBD oil online for all your needs.

CBD Can Support Chronic Pain

One of the most popular reasons for taking CBD oil products is to support chronic pain. 

CBD supports the bodies natural inflammation pathways and assists the body in this process.  One of the most talked about categories in this space is chronic pain.  This is something you should talk to your doctor about before integrating into your life style.  Vaping and dabbing our CBD slabs are going to be the fastest path to absorption, but many of our customers prefer tincture drops and softgels.

We spoke about this with Cameron Pullano of Greeny. He told us that CBD is something he regularly uses for pain management. “The most common use for CBD oil is for pain, something that can really destroy someone’s quality of life. Chronic pain can be an obstacle to doing nearly anything, including playing your favorite sport or even just taking the dog for a walk. For years, the only solutions to chronic pain were either to grit your teeth and deal with it or take medications like NSAIDs or opioids that have severe long-term health consequences. CBD offers a natural alternative that can be taken in a variety of ways.”

We hear this echoed by Ahmed Mir of the website Nature and Bloom. He said: “I like to work out, and I constantly struggle with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). I have been using a variety of CBD supplements regularly and have increased the frequency and intensity of my workouts significantly.”

CBD Can Support Anxiety

In the same way that CBD works within the endocannabinoid system to support inflammation and pain, so, too, can it be used to support one’s anxiety and depression. Those two conditions are problematic health issues for people worldwide. Mainstream medicine treats anxiety and depression with prescription medications, but many people find they dislike these because of the potentially harmful side effects. CBD, meanwhile, can support the body’s own regulation of anxiety and depression. With CBD, you may be able to support anxiety and depression while experiencing none of the side effects of typical antidepressants. If you suffer from anxiety, depression, or a similar condition, ask your doctor about what CBD oil might be able to do for you.

CBD Can Help the Body Support Epilepsy Symptoms

We just said it, and it is worth repeating: as with anything we discuss relating to CBD, you should always consult with your doctor before making any decisions about using CBD to help your body reduce the inflammation and pain associated with certain medical conditions.  It is believed that CBD support people with epilepsy by interacting with the nervous system. Research is being done all the time on the relationship between CBD and people with seizure conditions.

Buy CBD Oil Online from Phytodabs

These days, it’s easier than ever to buy CBD oil for yourself or a loved one who is experiencing any kind of pain or discomfort due to a medical condition. Phytodabs carries CBD not only in oil form, but also in wax crumbles, vapes, CBD isolate powder, gummies, and tinctures, to name some. Our collection allows you to choose the CBD type that is right for you. Be sure to contact us with any questions.

We all know it is difficult to live with chronic medical conditions that decrease your daily enjoyment of life. CBD can help with that. Talk to your doctor to see for yourself what CBD can do for the quality of your life.

If you have been keeping up with health news in the last few years, you may have noticed the seemingly sudden rise of cannabidiol or CBD. Maybe you’re unfamiliar with what this product is or why it is so popular, but you have a vague notion that it has something to do with the Cannabis sativa plant. This is a good place to start in this beginner’s guide.

CBD is an extract from the cannabis plant that can support the human body’s efforts in reducing inflammation. As is widely known in medical science, inflammation can cause a variety of bodily discomfort, from arthritis to chronic back pain. CBD has also been shown to help the body manage mental and neurological conditions such as anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy.

Andreia Mills, a CBD expert with Plant and Hemp, told us how everyone can have a different experience with CBD. “Everybody’s body is different, and the way we react to CBD changes from person to person. The effects of CBD can also change depending on how you are consuming it, be it via vape, CBD oil under the tongue, in edible products such as gummies, all these products can have different impacts on different people.”

Now that you have a fundamental idea of what CBD is and basically what it is used for, you may still be left with questions: is CBD a type of medicine? Is it safe? How should it be taken?

Phytodabs is here to address these and other questions in this beginner’s guide to CBD. After you learn all about the benefits of this substance, you can check out our great range of CBD oil products, edibles, tinctures, and lotions. Let’s start off by learning about CBD itself.

What Is CBD?

You won’t want to hear about what CBD can do for you if you don’t first understand what CBD actually is. CBD stands for cannabidiol, which is a chemical compound that comes from the flower of a Cannabis sativa plant. You may hear the word “cannabis” and instantly react as though CBD is a kind of marijuana product that will get you high. This is not true.

Yes, CBD comes from Cannabis sativa, the plant that includes marijuana and hemp. But CBD is typically extracted from hemp because that species contains higher concentrations of the compound. CBD is entirely separate from tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is responsible for the “high” of smoking or otherwise consuming marijuana.

CBD without traces of THC will not make you high or any form of intoxicated. It will not affect your perception as THC would. Instead, CBD is used primarily for medicinal purposes, as it has been shown to relax people’s states of mind and support the body’s fight against inflammation. CBD does this by aiding people’s natural endogenous cannabinoid system, which regulates the bodily conditions that can lead to inflammation and disease.

This is why the popularity of CBD has exploded in recent years, since many people are starting to turn to the substance as an alternative way to help their bodies fight certain chronic conditions that ail their bodies and minds.

How Is CBD Used Medicinally?

The crux of any article about CBD must surely mention the compound’s primary usage: that of an anti-inflammatory support substance. Since this is a beginner’s guide to CBD, however, we recommend rereading this information as many times as necessary to understand the concepts fully. Furthermore, it is never recommended to jump right into using liberal amounts of CBD to address symptoms of your medical conditions. Consult your doctor about using CBD if you believe you could benefit from it.

You want to ensure you are reading the labels carefully so you know exactly what you are taking and how much you need to help with any issues you are having. Elana Frankel with Indigo and Haze could not stress this enough. “The mg/ml ratio is important and strength = potency. That means how much CBD per volume. For example, two bottles with the same mls. One contains 700 mgs of CBD and the other 1,200. The stronger oil is the one with 1,200 so you would have to take about twice as much of the less potent to achieve the same dose.” We see a lot of people not paying close enough attention to dosage amounts and either taking too much or too little. 

Having said all that, there are still numerous points we can confidently report about CBD’s positive effects on the human body.

CBD is used mainly for anti-inflammatory purposes, or pain management. Inflammation can lead to all kinds of problems in the human body, from arthritis to cancer. Conditions for which people take CBD include rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, heart disease, cancer, acne, and general pain. CBD has also been shown to help relieve the symptoms of certain mental and neurological conditions that include anxiety, depression, epilepsy, autism, PTSD, and substance dependencies.

CBD products come in several forms, from tinctures to topical creams to edibles and vape pens. Which form you choose to take will depend on how fast you want relief and how long you want the effects to last. Topical forms are good for people who do not want to or cannot consume CBD in any way. Edibles, tinctures, and hemp drops, meanwhile, are taken orally and tend to last for several hours.

CBD Safety

As we mentioned earlier, it is not a good idea to begin taking high amounts of CBD suddenly. As with many medicinal products, people tend to start with low amounts of CBD per day and gradually work themselves up to greater amounts over time. We have found that many CBD consumers start out taking a daily minimum of 200 mg, which is generally considered a low amount. People who vape CBD might consume up to 1,500 mg daily. There is no “correct” amount. It all depends on your circumstances.

As far as a schedule of taking CBD, some people report taking the substance with every meal, or three times a day. Others take it morning and night only. As with the dosage, your schedule for taking CBD depends on what you and your doctor can work out together.

It is also important to note that people of many ages take CBD products to help their bodies’ anti-inflammatory efforts, but individuals under 21 years of age should consult a doctor first. For more information on administering CBD to children, speak with a pediatrician.

The most important takeaway from this section is that no single formula for taking CBD will be right for everyone. You should work with your doctor to devise a plan for taking CBD, and be sure to monitor the effects on your condition.

Buy CBD Oil Products with PhytoDabs

As we have discussed, CBD can be used to support the body’s anti-inflammatory system in reducing the pain and discomfort associated with a variety of illnesses and conditions. As with any other time you put something in your body, however, you should know what you are doing before acting. Consult with your doctor on taking CBD as a medicinal product.

Once you develop a plan, come back here to Phytodabs to browse our CBD products. If you’re looking for a CBD wax crumble, CBD dabs, a CBD tincture, or CBD gummies, you will find what you are looking for with us.

The products we carry can aid your body in warding off pain and other types of inflammation. Contact us with any questions about our inventory, and we will be happy to assist you.

It doesn’t seem like long ago that not many people were talking about cannabidiol, also known as CBD. Now, you can find CBD in everyday places all over the country. Almost every state has legalized certain uses of it. CBD can be added to just about anything, like food and beauty products. While cannabidiol is one of the biggest trends you can find today and it’s become easily available, many people don’t actually understand it or still have a lot of questions about it. Most of the questions people have regarding CBD are the health benefits that many claim it has. 

Although many swear by the benefits cannabidiol can have for your wellbeing, there are still plenty of skeptics out there. If you’ve been wondering about whether or not CBD can help you, here’s some more information on the health claims that surround it. 

What Exactly is Cannabidiol? 

For how popular cannabidiol is, there’s still some confusion about what exactly it is, even by those who use it. Whenever you’re using a product, especially if it’s for your health, you should understand what it is. Cannabidiol is much more straightforward than it may seem, it’s simply a chemical extracted from a cannabis plant, also known as hemp. Unlike THC, which also comes from cannabis, CBD isn’t psychoactive. Because of this, CBD has more of a physical effect on those who use it and has none of the mental effects that you would experience with THC. This is what many get wrong about CBD, as it doesn’t give you a “high” feeling that many assume it does.

CBD might seem like it’s just the latest trend, but that’s far from the truth. People have been using hemp-extract to support their health all over the world for centuries. While it might have just made it big in society today, hemp extract has been proving its worth for years. There’s still a lot to learn about the health benefits it can support, but it’s already earned a spot in many people’s medicine cabinets. 

Does it Have Medical Benefits?

CBD products are one of the most talked-about wellness topics right now, both by those who say it can offer health benefits and those who have their doubts. Using cannabidiol for medical purposes is still fairly new, so there’s often not much proof to say that it has all the health benefits people claim it does. However, it has gained enough supporters to show that there could be some truth that people could benefit from using it.

There is a wide range of health concerns people claim hemp-extract can significantly help support, although these benefits aren’t guaranteed. One of the most popular claims is that hemp extract can support relief from anxiety. It might also be able to help support relief from a variety of different physical pains. Those with skin conditions like acne may also be able to benefit from hemp-extract. 

For right now, no one can promise you that you can get health benefits from using hemp-extract. Even if you know someone who has had CBD work for them, you can’t expect it to do the same for you. As cannabidiol use becomes more and more common and people begin to look to it for healthcare, studies may be able to show what exactly we can use it to help with. 

What are the Cons of Cannabidiol? 

While no guarantees can be made for what you can get out of cannabidiol use, it most likely won’t hurt to try.  Of course, many people want to know what could potentially go wrong by using cannabidiol. Many people swear by CBD, but there could still be some negative side effects that occur. Like anything, CBD will also affect each person differently, so it isn’t right for everyone. However, in most cases using CBD correctly is believed to be safe and many people don’t experience any side effects. When these side effects do happen, they can cause drowsiness, low blood pressure, and dry mouth. 

It’s also important to use the correct dosage and to make sure that it doesn’t have any negative reactions with medications you’re taking. Whenever you buy CBD, you should always be sure that you’re buying it from a reliable source so that you aren’t putting your health at risk. Before trying CBD for medical use, you should consider talking to your doctor first.

Dogs have an incredibly keen sense of smell. Combine this with their inquisitive nature and desire to please, and you have one powerful smell detector. 

Dogs aren’t naturally attracted to smells like marijuana. Police dogs are trained from a young age to alert to whatever substances the trainer has selected for their work. This begins by training the dog to associate the desired smell with fun. Usually, the trainer uses a desirable toy or towel that is free of any scents. They develop a bond with the dog and work to make that toy the dog’s favorite. Then the desired scent is added to the toy to make the link in the dog’s brain between the smell and the joy they get from playing with their favorite toy. At this point, the trainer will start to hide or conceal the toy, and reward the dog with playtime once the toy is discovered.

There are many ways to train a dog for scent work. Hunting dogs are trained to detect specific smells and follow a scent trail. Dogs can also be trained to detect human ailments like cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Clostridium difficile, malaria, blood sugar changes and more.

Certain breeds of dogs are usually preferred for scent work. Bloodhounds, basset hounds, German Shepherds, Labradors, Malinois, Pointers and Coonhounds are some of the most popular choices. They have the most acute sense of smell that has been further refined through years of selective breeding.

Repetition and reward are key for any type of dog training. With the right canine partner, the possibilities are endless. While it’s not likely that your pup will naturally be drawn to the scent of cannabis, these animals are highly sensitive and they use smell to understand the world around them. Regardless of whether cannabis is out in the open, inside a vape cartridge, or concealed in a smell-proof container a dog trained for scent work will be able to detect it.

Did you know that over 500 different chemical components have been reportedly found in cannabis? Approximately 100 of those are cannabinoids, the main bioactive components of cannabis and hemp. The remainders are terpenes and other products like carboxylic acids.

So how do scientists tell these compounds apart? They use a scientific method called chromatography.

What is Chromatography?

The word “chromatography” actually comes from words meaning “color writing.” Chromatography is one of the most important techniques a chemist can have, using it to separate out mixtures into their individual components. 

Chromatography is widely used by chemists in every industry. It helps at crime scenes, and it helps to identify biological materials. In the cannabis industry, it is used to identify the components of the extraction from hemp or cannabis. It is also used as a testing mechanism on end-products such as CBD oils or cannabis flowers.

In chromatography, a mobile phase (in this case, the cannabis product being tested) moves over a stationary phase of a liquid or solid substance. As the mobile phase moves, it separates out into its separate components onto the stationary phase.

Think of it as a swim meet. Swimmers (mobile cannabis substances) line up on the starting block to move across water (the stationary phase). Swimmers are slower or faster depending on their innate qualities, meaning the individual substances move at different speeds across the stationary solid material.

Cannabis Testing

One of the biggest issues in the cannabis industry today is the testing of products marketed to consumers. Because the products are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there are issues in the industry. 

Certainly, states that have legalized cannabis are implementing and enforcing testing. For example, in Michigan, the state recalled cannabis strains that tested positive for arsenic and cadmium, a heavy metal. Other news reports talk about cannabis products testing positive for toxins and pesticides.

While states should perform testing, growers and producers have a responsibility to test their products before they ever reach the state lab. This is something that we take very seriously at PhytoFamily.

Chromatography at PhytoFamily

We use a technology called chromatography, a very popular technique for testing the safety of cannabis. Chromatography has become an extremely important technology for the industry, as producers deal with the many new state regulations. One of the most important tests is the determination of the potency of the cannabinoid in the product, to ensure the customer gets what they are paying for and also to ensure that the formulation does not exceed certain state-stipulated thresholds, like for THC.

Chromatography is used for much more than just testing, though. The technology is used to separate compounds during the cannabis extraction process. In this way, PhytoFamily can create custom-tailored cannabinoid extracts. Chromatography allows us to separate out and select specific cannabinoids to concentrate them higher than levels found in any cannabis flower.

Many of these regulations require growers to test their plants for any signs of pesticide, solvent, and heavy metal contamination. Testing the intensity of cannabinoid potency is also a serious step required by regulations.

There are a number of different chromatography methods used in the cannabis and hemp industries. Let’s take a look.

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is widely used in the cannabis industry. It is more accurate than other methods and therefore is the preferred method of separating cannabinoids and also the preferred method used for testing.

HPLC is a form of column chromatography, meaning the stationary phase is a vertical column filled with highly absorbent silica. The cannabis substance is pushed into the column at high pressure to split into its individual components. The column is then removed, and the components are analyzed. The main reason most cannabis outlets choose HPLC is that this method requires no heating. HPLC is more sensitive, more precise and much faster than other methods.

Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)

Like HPLC, thin layer chromatography (TLC) is another form of liquid column chromatography. The mixture being studied is placed at one end of the column, and another substance called an eluant (eluent) is poured in to help move the mobile phase along.

Gas Chromatography (GC)

Gas chromatography is particularly used to screen samples for residual solvents; the method is very accurate at detecting volatile compounds. 

This method is sometimes referred to as either vapor-phase chromatography (VPC) or gas-liquid partition chromatography (GLPC), and uses gases as the mobile phase, and it is a highly automated analysis performed with lab equipment called a gas chromatograph.

A tiny sample of the mixture is injected into the chromatograph, then the mixture is heated to instantly vaporize it. The eluant is added as the carrier; in gas chromatography, neutral gases like hydrogen and helium are typically used. The eluant helps the vaporized mixture move through the column to separate out into its components.

Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC)

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is a form of gas chromatography that uses carbon dioxide as the mobile phase. The principles of this method are very similar to HPLC, and the same silica columns are used. However, because gas is used, the entire system is pressurized so that the liquid and gas properties converge (which is why it is sometimes called convergence chromatography). The method is commonly used as a purification method in the pharmaceutical industry.

Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC)

Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) is also used for cannabis and hemp extraction and purification. CPC is similar to HPLC, but it uses a liquid rather than a solid for the stationary phase. The method is newer and not yet widely used in commercial operations. Instead, it is typically used by researchers. However, the method is much less expensive and therefore has been growing in popularity for commercial use. HPLC takes much less time – around 30 minutes — and the other methods use silica, but CPC does not. The CPC columns are also reusable, and all of these efficiencies make the method more cost-effective. The end result of CPC is a much purer compound – some extracts reach nearly 100 percent purity levels.

Conclusion

Chromatography is not exclusive to the cannabis industry. These methods are used by chemists across the world, but there are a growing number of specialized cannabis chromatographs being developed; one example is an HPLC chromatograph device called Shimadzu’s Cannabis Analyzer for Potency.

The cannabis industry is in its infancy. In the future, look for customized devices specific to the cannabis industry. These instruments will allow different analysis methods, and will be highly sensitive to allow testing for terpene levels, solvent levels and total potency.

Live Resin is a term that describes an extract made from fresh-frozen flowers and extracted with butane. Extracts that are made with butane are sometimes referred to as “BHO” or butane hash oil. 

In order for an extract to be classified as live resin, the plants must have been frozen while they were still fresh. Freezing the plant while it’s still wet preserves all the phytochemicals before they get a chance to oxidize or evaporate off. This results in a finished extract that contains the highest possible concentrations of terpenes.

Why are Terpenes so Important?

Terpenes are phytochemicals that all plants produce to perform different functions like protecting themselves from insects. Terpenes is what gives each cannabis strain unique flavor, aroma, and effects. The same compounds can be found across many kinds of plants. For example, lavender is high in linalool and hops are high in myrcene—two of the most popular terpenes found in cannabis. Terpenes work synergistically to produce new effects when combined in the body, called the entourage effect. Science is just beginning to explore the possibilities of terpene combinations.

Many of the finer terpenes are extremely sensitive to heat and oxidization. When cannabis plants are dried, these terpenes transform through oxidation or evaporate off completely. This is why fresh cannabis plants smell so different from their dried and cured counterparts. 

The live resin process protects these delicate terpenes by freezing the plant, to create an extract with complex flavors and aromas that closely resemble those of the fresh flower. The name live resin was coined because these extracts smell more like live plants than any other extract.

How is Live Resin Made?

1. FRESH FREEZE

We cryogenically freeze the plants fresh in the fields immediately after cutting them down. This prevents water and terpenes from evaporating like they would if the plants were dried.

2. EXTRACT WITH CRYOGENIC HYDROCARBONS

The plant stays frozen during the entire extraction process. The extract is “winterized” inline during this process which removes undesirable fats, waxes, cellulose, and lipids.

3. PURGE

The final step purges the excess hydrocarbons from the extract. Purging involves gently heating the extract to 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit without vacuum to off-gas most of the solvents in the mixture. This is a crucial step in high value live resin because if not done properly these products will show residual solvents on a COA.

4. RECRYSTALLIZE

During this phase, the extract is left undisturbed for 2-3 weeks in glass jars or pans. While the extract sits, cannabinoids start to come out of solution and recrystallize in the bottom of the container. After this, the terpene mixture or “terp sauce” can be poured off the top leaving just the cannabinoid “diamonds” behind.

5. FINAL PURGE

After separating the terp sauce and the diamonds, they both will need to go through a final purge. Separating the crystals makes it easy to purge them for longer. Ed Rosenthal recommends purging diamonds for around 72 hours and terp sauce for around 60 hours. Afterward, the components can be used separately or mixed back together.

Sound complicated? Extraction is often more of an art form than a science, with each extractor developing their own techniques over years of trial and error. With the advances in extraction equipment and the growing popularity of live resin, we believe this is only the beginning of what master extractors will craft in the upcoming years.

Our founder Granger Vinall is a pioneer in hemp live resin and we are proud to offer his high-CBD live resin containing zero THC under Lune Laboratories. Try a jar today and taste the difference.

Over the past few years, CBD has become one of the most popular healthcare ingredients that you can use on your own.  CBD can be used to treat a variety of different ailments and there are several different options for how you can buy and use it depending on what you’re looking to get from CDB.  Out of all the ways you can buy it, CBD isolate is one of the most sought after, in addition to being one of the strongest forms of CBD. 

For those who are new to the world of CBD, understanding the different types can be overwhelming. Here, you can learn a little more about what CBD isolates entails and what’s needed to produce it.

Hydrocarbon Recrystallization

The majority of CBD isolate is produced with a hydrocarbon recrystallization technology. There are many tweaks and variations to this method but here is the outline of the basic method.

Before we get started, it’s important to recognize that this process utilizes highly flammable explosive solvents and should only be performed by professionals in a laboratory setting with appropriate safety precautions and procedures in place.

The process starts with winterized and distilled CBD oil, sometimes referred to as distillate. The oil must be clear before the isolate process starts. If the oil is cloudy that means there are still undesirable contaminants like water, lipids, and waxes in the mix. To fix this issue, the oil will need to be winterized again until it’s clear.

The higher the CBD content in the distillate, the more pure the final isolate will be.

First, the distillate is dissolved into a hydrocarbon solution with pentane or heptane at warm temperatures. These non-polar solvents dissolve non-polar molecules like fats, oils, waxes, and lipids while repelling water. This makes them excellent for separating out the desirable components in cannabis and hemp extraction.

After the distillate is dissolved, the cannabinoids in the solution will naturally begin to crystallize over time. This process can be accelerated by exposing the solution to cold temperatures. The cold temperatures change the solubility profile of the solvents, and cause the CBD crystals to spontaneously form, called “crashing out.”

After the CBD crystals have stopped forming it’s time to filter them out of the remaining liquid or “mother liquor.” The mother liquor can be processed again later to extract even more CBD out of it.

At this point, the crystals can be washed with cold pentane to achieve a whiter color and remove impurities. The washing process can be repeated multiple times to achieve a better appearance but this will result in lower yields. An alternative option is to dissolve the isolate and recrystallize it again to achieve a higher purity.

Chromatography

Chromatography is another method that can be used to produce CBD isolate. Chromatography uses separation science to remove all the other molecules besides CBD. 

This process starts with clear hemp distillate just like the hydrocarbon recrystallization method, except this method, uses ethanol instead of heptane or pentane. Ethanol is a polar solvent but the ethyl group in ethanol is non-polar. This makes it a versatile solvent that can dissolve both polar and non-polar molecules. It is also considered slightly less dangerous to work with but still requires appropriate safety procedures and precautions. 

First, the distillate is mixed with ethanol. The mixture is injected into a column filled with specialized silica that has fats bound to it. The silica is developed to hold onto different cannabinoids at different strengths so that when the mixture is injected into the column, the cannabinoids precipitate out at different rates. Because the cannabinoids are coming out of the mixture at different times, each of these “fractions” can be captured separately.

Isolate can be made with normal phase or reverse phase chromatography. The basic difference between these processes is whether the non-polar molecules (cannabinoids) come out first or last. In normal phase chromatography, the non-polar molecules come out first. In reverse-phase chromatography, the cannabinoids come out after all the polar molecules.

Both extraction methods offer benefits and can be scaled up for different production runs. At Phytofamily we have chosen to offer isolate made with techniques that do not involve washing with heptane at the end of the process. The heptane wash creates a more crystalline appearance but can result in traces of residual solvents in the end product. Our isolate is made with only ethanol and water.

Shop Isolate Here

If you know anything about cannabis, you likely know what a cannabinoid is and you also likely know about the cannabinoids THC and CBD. However, cannabis has over 100 cannabinoids and 400 compounds, so scientists have barely scratched the surface in uncovering all their great properties.

What is Cannabicitran?

Have you heard of cannabicitran (CBT)? It is one of the minor cannabinoids found in the cannabis Sativa plant. The first online reference to CBT was back in 1970 when a chemist used normal-phase flash chromatography to isolate CBG from a CBD-rich hemp distillate.

Since this type of chromatography could separate CBG from all the other cannabinoids, this got him thinking, and he then used reversed-phase flash chromatography to separate and collect other cannabinoid compounds like cannabinol (CBN), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabicyclol (CBL), and cannabicitran (CBT).

Later in 2011, CBT was first mentioned in a journal publication when Japanese scientists investigated pollen collected from male Cannabis sativa L. plants and identified 16 cannabinoids in the extract using the more modern chromatography methods of GC-FID (gas chromatography with flame ionization detector) and GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). Cannabicitran was one of the 16 compounds they identified.

These researchers also isolated CBT from the Chinese medicinal plant Rhododendron Anthopogonoides, which is used extensively in southern China to treat bronchitis and other respiratory ailments. Their chemical analysis of the plant extract also revealed several flavonoids, essential oils, terpenes, and tannins.

The Different Types of Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are generally categorized as:

1. Naturally occurring plant cannabinoids called Phytocannabinoids
2. Endocannabinoids that naturally occur in humans (anandamide and adrenaline are examples) and
3. Synthetic cannabinoids that are manufactured in a laboratory to act similarly to phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids.

Regardless of which of the three classes a cannabinoid falls into, all three do act on the cannabinoid receptors which are prominent in the brain, immune system, gut, and other body organs. While CB1 and CB2 receptors are widely known, many more types of receptors exist. In fact, CBD and THC are known to interact with over 50 different receptors. All of these receptors function to restore the body’s balance, called homeostasis.

The Process of Chromatography

Today, Cloud Chromatography makes broad-spectrum tailored cannabinoid extracts to enhance your cannabis and hemp experience. Our lifeblood business involves characterizing and purifying new cannabinoids to bring you new products.

Chromatography is the science of separating and isolating chemical compounds, and we use this technology to select specific cannabinoids. CBT is a minor cannabinoid that occurs at between 1 and 5 percent in hemp distillate. We then concentrate them higher than levels found in any cannabis flower. We have experimented with concentrations ranging from 60 to 94% and have settled on a full-spectrum concentration of 70% CBT in a highly unique extract available in 30 ml bottles in either 150mg or 500mg concentrations. Our unique extraction process preserves the natural hemp terpenes, so our products are full-spectrum, containing a high terpene concentration. In our chemical analyses, we have determined CBT to be particularly lipophilic, so we use MCT coconut oil as a carrier oil.

We also offer a CBT/CBD extract in a 1:1 CBD: CBT ratio to give you a solid concentration of CBD as well as CBT for a daily source of cannabinoids. For example, our 1000mg drops are made with 500mg CBT and 500mg CBD.

The cannabinoids in this bottle are activated, therefore they are ready to be added to any food or drink or taken alone.

We are dedicated to bringing you new cannabinoids, and trying our CBT products is the perfect way to explore all the possibilities with this plant. CBD and THC may be the better-known cannabinoids, but we can’t wait to see scientists unlock the secrets of minor cannabinoids like CBT.