water soluble cannabidiol is rapidly gaining popularity as a health and wellness supplement. This burgeoning market is expected to hit nearly $5 billion in revenue by 2022, and as such CBD-infused products are becoming increasingly mainstream. This is particularly true in the world of functional beverages, with companies like Unilever now offering CBD-infused ice cream. However, many of the current CBD products on the market suffer from a number of issues, such as taste, absorption, and delivery speed.
Traditionally, phytocannabinoids like CBD are extracted from the hemp or cannabis plant in the form of oils. However, the human body is over 60% water, and oil-based CBD products are not readily absorbed by the human body. This is due to the fact that oil-based CBD products are hydrophobic. Hydrophobic molecules cluster together to create micelles when mixed with water-based solutions, which leads to an uneven distribution of phytocannabinoids throughout the mixture and a lack of bioavailability.
The Science Behind Water Soluble Cannabidiol: A Deep Dive
To make CBD more water-soluble, scientists break the molecules down into smaller particles that are able to remain suspended in the water-based solution without clumping together. The key to this process is the fact that lipids (fats) in the hemp or cannabis plant contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts. Lipids have the hydrophobic parts clustered together while the hydrophilic parts face towards the water-based solution, which makes creating a water-soluble product possible.
To create a water-soluble product, phytocannabinoids are broken down into smaller particles through the use of nanotechnology and then combined with ingredients that have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties to form micelles. This results in a product that is more evenly distributed throughout the water-based solution and is then able to be absorbed by the body.
