The highly lipophilic nature of cannabinoids severely limits their bioavailability when consumed orally. Water-soluble products increase the amount of active substance that reaches the bloodstream due to improved absorption properties, resulting in greater and faster effects of cannabinoid products.
The question of how to achieve greater bioavailability of cannabinoids has been one of the main challenges for researchers in the cannabis industry, and for a good reason. Refining their molecular composition can improve the effects of administered products, as well as ensure more efficient use of the active substances during their production, which would greatly benefit solution development in the long run. Sanobiotec, a cannabinoid research company, is working towards improving cannabinoid solubility and overall homogeneity of its preparations, which is expected to play a crucial part in terms of product applicability and effectiveness.
The topic of cannabinoids – active chemical compounds found in cannabis plants – has not lost its momentum. Researchers continue to explore the world of cannabis products and identify more promising compounds that could aid in dealing with a wide range of health issues, such as anxiety, inflammation, insomnia and others. However, the nature of cannabinoid molecular structure severely limits leveraging their full potential, as a high fraction of the administered substance does not even reach the bloodstream.
Due to the poor absorption properties, researchers have shifted their focus to developing water-soluble cannabinoid products. A great example to help put matters in perspective would be considering the cannabidiol (or CBD) absorption. One of the most well-known cannabinoids is believed to provide as little as 4% of the original CBD content when consumed orally. To put it layman’s terms, CBD and its lipophilic properties – tendency to dissolve in lipids (fats) – means it does not mix well with water, which makes up around 60% of the human body, resulting in restricted absorption.
Sanobiotec research on water-soluble products confirms a clear, well-defined relationship on bioavailability of any molecule and its hydrophobicity. The more hydrophobic the drug, the lower its uptake through gut membrane to the blood. The pharmaceutical industry has several methods to mitigate such limitations but the most popular is a formation of a drug/drug carrier complex or in other words a formulation in which the drug does what it is supposed to do, while the carrier takes the transporter’s part. By such methods the drug absorption can be increased by folds.
“By mimicking the pharma approach, we decided to test both of the most efficient methods – the use of liposomal microparticles and cannabinoid/ dextrin complexes. To our luck, deep literature analysis on drug delivery complexes, their formulations and techniques towards it, resulted in high quality, highly stable water-soluble cannabinoid products in both powder and oil form. Such form of product shows increased bioavailability but more importantly eases the administration of the product itself,” said Renaldas Rimkus, Sanobiotec head of Research and Development.
Sanobiotec has been working with experts from several research facilities, seeking to combine different research methods and cross-industry know-how to come up with novel solutions – ensuring their maximum uptake potential and efficiency to treat illnesses.
For more information, visit: sanobiotec.com and linkedin.com/company/sanobiotec
