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Some Additional Information on Broad vs Full Spectrum & Isolate

What is Isolate?

CBD isolate is a highly refined formulation of CBD and therefore does not have any detectable levels of Delta-9 THC or any other cannabinoids present in the final product. However, the language for CBD isolate products has shifted from the previous “THC-Free” label because it is not guaranteed that there would be an absolute remediation of Delta 9 THC in the product. To avoid litigation and false claims, THC Non-Detect is the preferred language as it does not imply zero THC, but instead indicates that the level of THC is not in a high enough level that can be detected by testing equipment.

The same can be said of the other cannabinoids that are extracted from the hemp plant. While full and broad spectrum extracts contain a number of other cannabinoids apart from CBD, isolate formulations intentionally “isolate” CBD so that it is the only detectable cannabinoid present in the final product. This makes both potency and purity absolute and allows for very specific tailored formulations by using a chemically pure product as opposed to a product that may have plant terpenes, minor cannabinoids and other plant compounds present in the extract.

How are Full Spectrum and Broad Spectrum Extracted?

Though different in their formulations, the extraction process of both full and broad spectrum extracts is relatively the same. The extraction process itself is the same in both cases from start to finish.

The flower of the hemp plant is bucked and ground to a fine consistency before being added to an extraction column. From there a solvent is added to the ground flower inside of the column in order to strip the desired cannabinoids and other plant compounds from the plant. This solvent is often in the form of hydrocarbons like butane, ethanol or supercritical CO2. These solvent are pressurized and brought to specific temperatures in order to efficiently extract the cannabinoids, terpenes, fats, waxes and other compounds from the plant leaving the biomass behind.

After the extraction of these compounds, a crude oil is collected and leaves behind the original flower from the hemp plant. This oil is not yet a finished product that can be used by a consumer. Further filtration, solvent removal, distillation and THC remediation are necessary before this extract can be formulated into a full, broad, or isolate CBD product. Each of these processes are essential to create a useable product

Filtration:

This process is very important to remove plant fats and waxes – particularly from supercritical CO2 extraction. This involves combining the crude oil with food grade ethanol and dropping the temperature to sub-zero levels. This solidifies the fats and waxes that were co-extracted from the hemp plant while the cannabinoids and terpenes remain in the ethanol mixture. Once the full winterization process is completed, the mixture is filtered through a vacuum filtration mechanism that leaves behind the fats and waxes effectively removing them from the product.

Solvent Removal:

This process is exactly as the name suggests. No matter the method of extraction, there will always be remaining levels of the solvent used to extract the cannabinoids and terpenes from the biomass left in the oil. In order to do this, heat, vacuum pressure and thin film equipment are implemented in order to evaporate the remaining solvent from the desired compounds. By applying the oil inside of a vacuum, the necessary temperature to volatilize the solvent from the extracted oil is lowered. This allows for the evaporation of the solvent without damaging the valuable cannabinoids and terpenes contained in the leftover oil. To increase the efficiency of this process, a piece of equipment like a rotary evaporator or falling film evaporator spreads the mixture out thin making it easier for the solvent to be removed from the desired oil.

Distillation:

As the solvent is increasingly removed from the extract, it will continue to become more viscous making it more difficult to spread the mixture thin to remove the final quantities of solvent from the final distillate. While the same principles apply from solvent removal to distillation, a mechanical means of thin film application is used through equipment like a wiped film distillation equipment. This uses a wiper to spread the oil thin across a heated surface that allows for the removal of trace amounts of solvent from the distillate. This creates a final product that can be formulated to create a full spectrum product, though dilution would be necessary to ensure legal levels of delta 9 THC if the product is being sold in states where it is not legal.

Remediation:

For products like broad spectrum and isolate, the remediation of all detectable levels of delta 9 THC is necessary to ensure an honest and legal product. Among the best way to perform this is through chromatography. High Performance Liquid Chromatography effectively separates the various components of an extract into their separate forms. This allows the processor to separate out the delta 9 THC from the extract and remove it to create a product with non-detectable levels of THC when necessary. To create a broad spectrum formulation, this is an essential process for legal reasons, and for those looking to consume a CBD product without ingesting a psychoactive cannabinoid like delta 9 THC.

What is the Entourage Effect?

Due to the numerous reported health benefits of naturally derived plant terpenes, recent studies have addressed the therapeutic benefits of terpenes. One interesting study recently conducted points to the synergistic effect of cannabinoids and terpenes called The Entourage Effect.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of terpene study in the hemp and cannabis industry is seen in what is commonly referred to as “The Entourage Effect.” The Entourage Effect is a study monitoring the activity of cannabinoid receptors in the brain when isolated cannabinoids were consumed compared to cannabinoids combined with terpenes.

This fascinating study has revealed that terpenes may play a significant role in the effects of hemp and cannabis products when used in conjunction with cannabinoids and other cannabis derived compounds. When terpenes were introduced, the activity of those receptors increased, suggesting that cannabis derived terpenes could potentially enhance the medical benefits of cannabinoids.

Though they are most notable for creating scent and flavor, terpenes themselves have also been studied to have physical and mental effects on their own. Looking back to limonene as an example, studies have shown this terpene to have mood altering effects and/or stress relieving effects and may even be useful for antifungal and antibacterial uses.

When used directly with the effects of cannabinoids, however, studies have shown that the use of terpenes and cannabinoids together enhances the efficacy of each as opposed to using them separately. For this reason, terpenes have become increasingly sought after in hemp and cannabis product formulations.

In other words, these studies show that the benefits of certain cannabinoids on their own are less than that of a compound that contains a full range of cannabinoids and terpenes. This ongoing study provides further evidence of the value that terpenes have in a final cannabis concentrate product, and how important it is to collect pure, unadulterated terpenes.

Choosing the Right Spectrum: Broad Spectrum vs Full spectrum

Choosing between full spectrum vs broad spectrum CBD can depend on a variety of factors. In terms of legality, THC can be outright illegal in any capacity making isolate and broad spectrum formulations the ideal choice. For those where THC is not an issue, getting the benefits of using a full spectrum formulated product makes sense as the entourage effect can be taken advantage of without fear of legal repercussions.

On a personal level, there may be those who are apprehensive about using THC simply for the fact that it is a psychoactive substance and they may wish to avoid even the possibility of feeling altered after ingesting a full spectrum product. In this case, a broad spectrum product may be best.

This also may apply to a job or other situation in which a full spectrum product could potentially lead to a false positive on a drug screening. If neither of these issues are of concern to the individual, then it may be the ideal choice to use a full spectrum product when levels of delta 9 THC is not an issue.