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The Journey of CBD from Plant to Oil

As those in the industry are fully aware, October is harvesting month for hemp. Once the crop leaves the fields, it will go through several stages of processing before it becomes a CBD supplement. These supplements come in various shapes and sizes, such as oils, sprays, tinctures, etc. But regardless of how they may eventually end up, the initial process is the same in all cases.

First and foremost, is the extraction process. CBD can be extracted from any cannabis plant, be it hemp or marijuana. Nevertheless, hemp contains more CBD than marijuana, making it a better and more efficient alternative.

The most common method to extract CBD is with the use of a particular solvent to achieve the desired result. This method has pros and cons. It’s important to mention that using neurotoxic solvents such as butane and hexane can leave behind some residues that, not only impede CBD many health benefits but can also compromise the immune system.

With that said, here are the best extraction methods:

CO2 Extraction

Among the most common extraction methods, this is the most complicated. It involves the use of CO2 under high pressure and low temperature from dry ice. Even though we won’t go into all the details of the process, it’s enough to know that this is the best method to extract CBD isolate by separating it from other cannabinoids such as THC. This method produces CBD with the least amounts of contaminants or other impurities in the finished product.

Liquid Solvents

This method uses liquid solvents such as butane, hexane, isopropyl alcohol, or ethanol. Hemp biomass is soaked in one of these solvents so that the active ingredients and flavors transfer into the liquid. The liquid is then evaporated, leaving behind the cannabinoids in the form of oil.

The main benefit of this method is that it’s cheap and requires no specialized equipment. The downside, however, is that it can also remove chlorophyll and other impurities, giving the oil a green color and bitter taste.

Oil Extraction

Using olive oil to extract CBD is probably the oldest method, dating back to ancient times. First, the plant’s biomass is heated up to activate its ingredients, then it’s added to the olive oil and heated again to extract the CBD and other cannabinoids. Like with liquid solvents, oil extraction is inexpensive and straightforward and is the preferred DIY method.

The downsides, however, include the matter that olive oil cannot evaporate. It means that what you end up is CBD-infused olive oil that has a lower concentration of CBD than oil produced by other methods. Likewise, CBD-infused olive oil is highly perishable and needs to be stored in cold, dark spaces.

CBD Distillate – Through a process known as fractionationyou will end up with CBD Distillate. It is a highly-refined cannabis extract that contains around 80% CBD alongside other cannabinoids and plant extracts. Because of this, CBD Distillate is considered a full spectrum product. Keep in mind that if the THC level is above 0.3%, it will fall outside of the hemp product, based on US law.

CBD Isolate – When you further refine Distillate, it becomes CBD isolate. It is where the concentration of CBD is over 99.5%. But some studies have shown that CBD in its isolated form does not have the same health benefits as full spectrum due to the so-called entourage effect.

Conclusion

For the best effect, however, Nano Full Spectrum CBD is a far better alternative than Hemp CBD Oil. It utilizes state-of-the-art technology to capture all of CBD’s health benefits. For more information, feel free to check out our website or email us at info@rootorigins.com.