CBD Isolate is purified, concentrated CBD (Cannabidiol), a cannabinoid found in hemp and cannabis and widely used as a therapeutic compound.
CBD isolate is a white crystalline powder which is lipid soluble. CBD is isolated from hemp and cannabis extracts using a combination of distillation and chromatography. It is used as an ingredient in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacture.
What is CBD Isolate
CBD isolate is a white crystalline powder (similar to table sugar or salt) which is hydrophobic and lipid soluble.
CBD Isolate is a highly refined product in a solid form often used in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacture.
Because CBD is used as a medicine it should be produced following GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) to ensure safety, potency, purity and consistency.
When correctly manufactured for use in the pharmaceutical industry, CBD isolate is considered to be an API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient).
Why is CBD Isolate Suddenly Popular?
CBD or Cannabidiol is an important non-intoxicating cannabinoid derived from hemp or cannabis. Renowned for it’s anti-inflammatory and other therapeutic effects, CBD has been declared as broadly safe with recognised medical uses by the WHO (World Health Organisation).
CBD isolate is purified cannabidiol. CBD Isolate appears as a white powder comprising small crystals. Impurities may result in an off-white, yellow or pink tinge.
CBD isolate is typically sourced from medical hemp or industrial hemp.
Note that while CBD isolate is the purest form of CBD product, it isn’t always the best – there are many valuable therapeutic effects from the other cannabinoids, terpenes and other compounds found in hemp flower and biomass, hemp-derived CBD oil and CBD distillate, which have been removed while purifying CBD.
CBD isolate is popular for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical use, and is increasingly finding it’s way into vape products, topical products and even animal products.
How is CBD Isolate Made?
CBD is a cannabinoid which occurs naturally in the flowers and leaves of Cannabis plants including hemp and marijuana. CBD isolate is most commonly derived from specially bred high CBD hemp cultivars.
The following section offers an overview of isolation of CBD from hemp for use in foods or medicines.
Best Sources of Hemp for CBD production
CBD can produced from any cannabis plant containing sufficient levels of the compound. The hemp material should be clean, of known origin and quality, and have been tested for pesticides. Material rich in CBD will result in a more efficient and economical isolation process with higher yields and lower levels of impurities.
For commercial production high CBD hemp cultivars are preferred. These varieties have been specially selected to produce large flowers rich in CBD and low in THC. While lower quality flowers such as industrial hemp can be used, these will be less efficient and also risk containing contaminants such as agricultural chemicals and heavy metals. Only plants specifically grown and tested for use in medicines should be used for CBD production. Unfortunately, the majority of hemp used in CBD production is low quality with the result that a lot of commercially available CBD isolate is adulterated with contaminants such as pesticides, fungal toxins, heavy metals or THC. Reputable manufactures strictly manage their hemp cultivation, procurement and testing to prevent these entering the supply chain. This is a normal part of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for Hemp and CBD.
CBD isolation from hemp – Step by Step from Farm to Pharma
CBD can be isolated from hemp flower or biomass (whole hemp plants). Good quality high CBD flower will give the best results, but this may be a waste of such high quality flower as isolate manufacture discards many other therapeutic compounds such as minor cannabinoids and terpenes.
To make CBD for use in food or medicine, hemp must be cultivated, harvested, dried, processed, extracted, refined and purified using specialised equipment and processes.
- Cultivar selection – High CBD Hemp Cultivars
- Cultivation – High CBD Medical Hemp Cultivation
- Processing – Hemp Post Harvest Processing
- Selecting Quality Extraction Material – CBD Processing from Hemp
- Extraction – CBD Hemp Extraction
- Refinement – CBD Manufacture from Hemp
- Isolation – CBD Isolation from Hemp
CBD Isolate FAQ
Is CBD Isolate Full Spectrum
CBD isolate is not full spectrum. Full spectrum means the opposite of isolation – full spectrum products contain a wide range of plant compounds including other cannabinoids, terpenes, terpenoids, flavinoids, pigments, oils and other plant components. These other compounds include some (such as cannabinoids and terpenes) of which have significant therapeutic potential and demonstrated synergy with CBD, while others have little to no therapeutic action at relevant dose rates (eg: chlorophyll).
Which is better? CBD Isolate or Full Spectrum products such as oil or distillate?
CBD Isolate and Full spectrum products have different characteristics. There are times patients or manufacturers need or want a single compound – eg: for a clinical trial or targeted therapy and other times they want more generalised effect.
CBD Isolate shows limitations relative to “full spectrum” products such as oil in many studies – eg: Israeli researchers showed that full spectrum products were more effective and retained a dose-response relationship at higher doses than isolate in mice. (Overcoming the Bell‐Shaped Dose‐Response of Cannabidiol by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol)
CBD isolate tends to be less effective at comparable doses than full spectrum products, and it’s effects don’t increase linearly as doses increase. Side effects can also be greater.
This tends to result in the need for higher doses, more side effects, and lower effectiveness over time – outcomes seen in the first registered CBD isolate based product – Epidiolex.
Eg: You can extract Vitamin C from Orange juice, but they have different uses and are not equivalent. If you have vitamin C deficiency, you might prefer to take a tablet to get the dose easily and accurately. For other uses Orange juice would be the better option.
How is CBD Isolate Made?
Read the CBD Isolation Process.
Is CBD Isolate Safe?
CBD Isolate has a wide safety margin – see section below for more detail.
Is CBD Isolate from hemp and medical cannabis the same?
Hemp is cannabis that meets a specific legal definition. Hemp is widely used for CBD production as it is simpler, easier and cheaper to grow due to legal and security requirements, however when producing any medical CBD product the hemp or cannabis must be grown to appropriate cannabis standards.
See High CBD Medical Hemp vs Industrial Hemp for more information.
In many regions, using cannabinoids in foods and medicines requires complying with Medical Cannabis legislation because it contains provisions which address the requirements for medical quality production, unlike industrial hemp, which is often grown for non food/medicine purposes such as soil remediation or for fibre production without consideration to potential contaminants.
Is CBD Isolate natural?
CBD is a natural component of cannabis plants including hemp. It may also be produced synthetically.
Most CBD sold is derived from hemp and cannabis and can be considered a natural product depending on how it is grown and processed.
Is CBD Isolate organic?
Organic CBD Isolate is possible, but only if produced from organic farming land and methods, and processed in organic certified facilities and processes.
Note many producers claim their product is organic and use this term loosely or without understanding their manufacturing process.
Most isolation methods rely on petrochemical solvents such as Pentane which doesn’t fit the “natural” image many users have of CBD. Note these compounds are called “organic solvents” – but that a totally different meaning to how the term is used in “organic farming” or “organic foods”. Organic solvents are those containing carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Benzene, Petroleum and Diesel are also organic buy this definition.
In contracts, CBD Oil and distillate can be produced without toxic solvents.
Some methods of CBD isolation such as distillation plus crystallisation or supercritical chromatography use only natural GRAS solvents such as Carbon dioxide and ethanol and may be considered natural and organic.
Look for organic certified hemp and organic certified extraction and isolation facilities if you want or need organic status.
This is currently rare but is expected to grow rapidly.
Is CBD Isolate water soluble?
CBD Isolate is not water soluble, and nor are most hemp extracts such as CBD oil and distillate.
Water soluble CBD powders are available. They tend to contain 10% to 20% CBD. The balance of the product is products to solubilise/mix oils and water, such as emulsifiers like Lecithin which are widely used in foods and medicines (think mayonnaise).
These powders are often more expensive than isolate, and manufacturers often claim higher bioavailability (but rarely present meaningful data to support this claim).
These “water soluble” CBD products result in tiny globules of CBD/oil which happily stay suspended in water.
Note that these products are rarely truly water soluble, they create semi-stable emulsions which are a different thing entirely, and often disperse resulting in an oil slick on top of the bottle (think the oil that floats on top of natural peanut butter).
Is CBD Isolate legal?
CBD isolate is regulated as a drug or cannabis product in most countries. Some states and countries consider it a “novel food ingredient” and have little regulation.
Much of the CBD industry operates outside regulation and sometimes makes inappropriate legal claims or statements
Always seek independent legal advice before producing, buying or selling any CBD product. This legal advice should include both your area of domicile, and where the product is grown, processed and sold.
Rhizo Sciences requires all suppliers buyers of product to certify that they have sought legal advice and take responsibility for the legal implications of their purchase or operations. We also require relevant licenses, certification and permits to trade in these products.
Safety of CBD
CBD is widely regarded as being safe and there is increasing amounts of evidence demonstrating it is effective in treating or managing a number of conditions.
The World Health Organisation recently published a review of CBD and found it to be broadly safe with little risk of addiction or abuse.
“CBD is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile. Reported adverse effects may be as a result of drug-drug interactions between CBD and patients’ existing medications. Several countries have modified their national controls to accommodate CBD as a medicinal product. To date, there is no evidence of recreational use of CBD or any public health related problems associated with the use of pure CBD.”
WHO Cannabidiol-CBD Pre Review Report
Like all drugs high doses can cause side effects but toxic and lethal doses are much higher than therapeutic doses, making it attractive in the treatment of a range of diseases where it shows promise and alternatives (such as opiates or psychiatric drugs) often cause significant side effects.
Always seek medical advice before beginning treatment with CBD. This is particularly important if you are on medication as CBD can interfere with the metabolism of other drugs such as blood pressure and psychiatric medicine.
Medical Hemp – derived CBD isolate
In the United States, we work with large established cultivators processors and also design, build and operate new large scale hemp processing labs.
We have partnered with North America’s largest Supercritical CO2 extraction company to develop large scale turnkey labs capable of processing 1000s of pounds of biomass daily to meet the growing demand for high quality CBD from US hemp.
We also source and sell biomass, and work direct with large cultivation groups, farmer’s cooperatives and First Nation groups to supply the large quantities of hemp biomass required for large scale CBD production.
Hemp Processing Services and Hemp Futures Agreements
Hemp Processing Services to extract CBD oil from hemp, and refine it to isolate are available across the USA and internationally.
We work with farmers to grow and produce low THC hemp-derived Isolate and other concentrates for local processing and export.
These will be derived from hemp grown under GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) conditions and processed under GMP compliant and certified facilities to allow sale internationally to approved purchasers.
If you require large quantities of crude oil or are a processor seeking oil for further refinement or manufacturing please contact us.
Our labs have large requirements for quality certified biomass, so if you are an experienced farmer, cooperative, nation or investment group seeking to enter the high CBD hemp production space please contact us to discuss potential orders.
Note we work direct with farmers, processors and manufacturers and their registered agents. All applicants must be qualified for production capability or purchase funds and intent prior to any pricing discussions.
Wholesale Hemp CBD Isolate
Rhizo Sciences works directly with large scale hemp processors processors to source and distribute hemp-derived CBD Oil and other CBD products in North America and internationally.
Bulk CBD Isolate Enquiry
If you require wholesale CBD oil please complete a wholesale CBD product enquiry form and our sales team will contact you.