The Benefits and Differences Between Oil-Based and Water-Soluble CBD
The global cannabidiol market is worth USD 5.18 billion, and it’s expected to grow in the coming years. If you’re involved in the study or sale of CBD, you may have heard of water-soluble CBD.
But what are the benefits and differences? If you’re interested in water-soluble cannabinoids, keep reading. We cover what it is and the advantages of this particular product.
What Is Water-Soluble CBD?
Cannabinoids such as CBD from the hemp or cannabis plant are extracted as oils. The downside to oils is that there are certain challenges with dosage control, absorption, taste, and more.
Water-soluble CBD can be dispersed in a liquid. It doesn’t affect the taste as much as other CBD products might, given that oil-based cannabinoids can have an earthy taste. It’s also easier for the body to absorb, which we’ll explain next.
There are several different methods for creating water-soluble CBD. (The ingredients and processes used have a significant impact on the quality of the final product.) These methods include:
- Physical dispersion
- Co-solvents
- Ultrasonic dispersions
- Water-soluble emulsions
Why It Works
Oil is hydrophobic, which can be a problem considering the human body is over 60 percent water. There’s only so much the body can do to absorb and process an oil-based CBD product.
Oil is insoluble in water; plus, a person’s metabolism limits the absorption rate, which means that oil-based products aren’t as effective as they could be. These cannabinoids aren’t as readily absorbed, which can affect the onset.
Water-soluble CBD has a higher bioavailability compared to oil-based products. The process of creating water-soluble CBD products involves emulsifying the oil, which the body then sees as hydrophilic (water-friendly). The benefit of emulsion is that it breaks the oil down into much smaller particles. Doing so allows the body to absorb the product more efficiently and experience more of the benefits.
The Benefits of Water-Soluble CBD
1) Higher absorption rate
We mentioned that this type of CBD is easier for the body to absorb. The higher absorption rate means an increased effectiveness per dose. It also means less of the product goes to waste, unable to be absorbed into the bloodstream.
2) Easy to mix
Additionally, it can be mixed into any liquid without separation. This makes it easier for consumers to mix CBD into their water, smoothies, etc.
3) No oily, earthy taste
Another big advantage is that CBD in this form doesn’t have the taste that oil-based products have. CBD oil can have an earthy, bitter taste that puts some people off. This can make it more challenging to mix into food and beverages or even take sublingually.
4) Easy to use
Currently, around one in seven adults use CBD products. That number might go up if CBD were easier to take. An option such as full spectrum water-soluble CBD could provide many benefits compared to its oil-based product counterparts.
Discover More with Aquazome
There’s no doubt that water-soluble CBD has a lot of promise. Its higher bioavailability means that it presents many unique benefits. We offer a product new to the industry: Aquazome, a water-soluble CBD/high cannabinoid ingredient solution. It is revolutionizing CBD bioavailability and efficacy. Higher bioavailability per serving translates to a higher loading per gram of water-soluble ingredient (350 mg per gram), which means increased value in each drop of product due to increased CBD content. This differs considerably from competitors’ material.
At PHCO₂™, we don’t use harsh chemicals in our supercritical CO2 extraction process of the whole plant hemp, and we work closely with USDA-Certified Organic farms to produce only clean, high-quality products. Using our GMP-certified, food-grade CO2 process—producing ingredients with high CBD actives with minors—we purify USDA-Certified Organic whole plant hemp biomass, crude, and distillate. We assist you in the design and development an emulsion for each application and help ensure comparability in each product.
If you’re interested in learning more, take a look at the services we offer, including biomass extraction, purification, small-scale sampling, and more. Contact us now to explore your ingredient needs.
