In the world of CBD, there are different types of CBD that could be used in your products. These are: CBD isolate, CBD broad spectrum and CBD full spectrum. Each type denotes the amount of additional cannabinoids that are present alongside your CBD or, in essence, how “pure” the CBD is. Here’s a little explainer for you:
- CBD isolate products contain nothing but CBD. As the name would suggest, this is CBD in its purest form when all other cannabinoids, terpenes, plant matter and flavonoids are refined away from CBD extract / distillate, leaving the CBD isolated!
- Broad spectrum CBD products contain all other cannabinoids of the cannabis or hemp plant that they come from, but have had all THC removed or extracted from it.
- Full spectrum CBD products include all of the cannabinoids, terpenes and other compounds, including THC. However most full-spectrum CBD products derived from the hemp plant are not much different from broad spectrum given the lack of THC within the chemical profile of the hemp plant. This is important to remember, as due to regulation in the UK, it is very unlikely (/it shouldn’t really be possible) that you would be buying a CBD product labelled as full spectrum. If the brand is abiding by the law over here then your product should not contain THC (or only trace amounts) and so should technically only be labelled as being broad spectrum.
But what does this preamble have to do with the entourage effect?! Well, the type of CBD used in your CBD product will determine the effects of the CBD. It is widely accepted that the more other cannabinoids and terpenes the CBD interacts with the more effective the CBD is in stimulating our endocannabinoid system. This is known as the entourage effect which denotes the benefits of taking in more than just one individual component of the cannabis plant at a time.
So under this premise, CBD in isolate form is more limited in its effects compared to if you are having a product that contains its broad or full spectrum counterpart. That’s why we use broad spectrum CBD in all of our products as well as natural terpenes in our vape products. Also, some cannabinoids have been found to be more effective than others - whilst research around this is still in its early days, recently CBG (included in our vape oil cartridge below) has been getting a lot of airtime for its effectiveness in enhancing the therapeutic effects of the CBD.
In summary then, as with any great entourage, the greater and more diverse the gathering, the more fruitful and enriched the outcome!