Our CBD + CBDa tinctures are incredibly popular in the world of health and wellness. But what makes them such a beloved hemp delivery method? Today we will discuss how we create our high-quality CBD + CBDa Tincture.
People have used tinctures for hundreds of years as alternative forms of medicine. In fact, the word tincture means “a medicine made by dissolving a drug or an ingredient in alcohol”.
Using tinctures is an easy way to add plant-based supplements to your diet as you try to pursue a healthier lifestyle. And, when you use Tanasi’s line of tinctures, available in doses ranging from 3600 to 1200mg, you’re getting the added benefit of our patent-pending combination of CBD + CBDa, which our research shows is 2x more effective than CBD alone!
So you may be wondering, can make your own tinctures? Or are you curious about how home made tinctures differ from commercial ones?
Manufacturers typically produce commercial tinctures using a CO₂ extraction or alcohol method. This creates highly-purified CBD isolates. Next, manufacturers infuse them in an oil base. As a result, most commercial CBD products labeled as “tinctures” are in fact oils. Even though these “oil-based” products aren’t true tinctures, advertisers frequently use the term when marketing highly concentrated CBD extractions. Especially ones that come in dropper bottles for sublingual dosing.
High-quality CBD commercial tinctures offer the highest purity levels and convenience. An oil-based tincture that uses the CO₂ extraction method is usually extremely potent.
A homemade CBD tincture is possible to make by soaking the plant material of either cannabis or hemp in alcohol. The alcohol may not or may be heated in order to promote extraction. It is also possible to use vegetable glycerine or vinegar rather than alcohol. However, using alcohol generally gives the most potent results.
Homemade CBD tinctures will not have the same purity levels as commercial tinctures, which use specific industrial methods that remove the impurities during extraction. However, a homemade CBD tincture gives the user more control when it comes to the ingredients used and the product is less expensive.
The basis of a quality CBD tincture or oil is the CBD-rich plant material. The main process involved to convert hemp plant materials into a product is known as extraction.
Today, the two common methods that are used by manufacturers to produce CBD products include ethanol extraction and supercritical CO2 extraction. The other methods include steam distillation and oil extraction, but these are not as popular. While each method has its own set of pros and cons, when done correctly, both methods produce high-quality and safe CBD products.
Using CO2 (carbon dioxide) extraction for separating hemp from CBD requires specialized equipment. CO2 can take on various forms, which depend on temperature or other factors. When using it for the purpose of extraction, CO2 must be changed into a liquid state (at a temperature below -69°F). The pressure also has to rise to over 75-pounds per-square inch with the use of a compressor. When it is ready, it is then passed through the hemp.
The CBD oil extraction processes remove the terpenes, trichomes, and other elements that may be valuable. As the pressure and temperature are increased, CO2 converts to a specific state where it has 1/2 liquid properties and 1/2 gas properties. For this reason, this is not a process that can be replicated outside a laboratory.
Solvent liquid extraction usually involves using ethanol. Hexane, isopropyl alcohol, and butane are other types of liquid solvents that are also used. In the process of liquid solvent extraction, there is no need for specialized equipment. The process involves running the solvent through the plant material which separates the CBD from the rest of the plant. As the solvent evaporates, it leaves behind an oil.
Some of the solvents can strip any chlorophyll present in the plant matter. If the CBD tincture or oil has a bright green color, it was most likely made using these methods.
This technique is one of the processes that can be done successfully at home and it is also used commercially. The drawback of trying this method at home is the residual solvent that may be left behind in the final product. Professionals that use liquid solvent extraction methods have the skills to remove any remaining impurities out of the oil. At the same time, the solvent type that is used also holds importance. For example, in one of the European studies, naphtha contained more THC and fewer terpenes when compared to other solvents.
For those that are interested in making their own CBD oil or quality CBD tincture from hemp, the oil extraction method is said to be the least complex. This is made possible by heating the oil to a temperature of 248℉ (for one hour) or 284℉ (for half an hour). The plant materials can then be added and heated at a temperature of 212℉ (for one to two hours). Over this time, chemicals inside the plant material are activated, which releases the CBD into the heated oil. Olive oil is one of the common choices, yet other types of oils such as coconut or palm seem to be a better choice for certain applications.
This process is regarded as inefficient since some of the oils won’t be extracted successfully from the plant material. As a result, a lot more of the plant material will be needed to extract a decent amount of oil. At the same time, the temperature of the steam required for this method may damage or destroy the terpenes.
The benefit of this particular technique is that any person that owns basic chemistry equipment and lots of hemp can experiment with this method at home.
Truly, there isn’t one “best” CBD extraction method. There also isn’t a perfect method to extract CBD oil. If there was such a method, all the companies would be using it.
You can make a strong case for both ethanol and CO2 extraction. Ethanol extraction method advocates say that this technique captures the desired terpenes and cannabinoids without extracting undesirable chlorophyll. But CO2 extraction advocates claim that this technique produces a much “purer” end product, which has less toxicity.
When searching for the top CBD + CBDa products available on the market, the hemp quality is actually more important when comparing it to the extraction method that was used. As always strongly recommended, look for a brand like Tanasi that uses organic practices to grow their hemp. Like us, these companies should also have readily available third-party lab reports.
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