Type
Bioavailability
There's a reason why every pharmaceutical company in the world is obsessed with the absorption of drugs, or bioavailability. The majority of cannabis producers and processors put a ton of hard work into growing cannabis, extracting oil, and creating a consumer packaged good (CPG), but they naively chose not to research what happens when humans consume cannabis in an edible form. Figure 1 highlights the bioavailability of the most popular cannabis delivery systems. Oil-soluble formulations are very wasteful and ineffective. Sorry if you're offended, but check your ego at the door.
the People
Figure 1: highlights bioavailability (%) of oil-soluble formulations (tincture, gummy, chocolate) vs. inhalation (vape) vs. water-soluble formulations (Le Herbe) vs. intravenous administration (IV). Disclaimer: IV is shown for educational purposes only; please don't use this delivery system or think we advocate for it.
Onset Effect
The slow onset of edibles has been a major obstacle to the mainstream acceptance of cannabis. As illustrated in Figure 2, oil-soluble formulations can take 1-2 hours to take effect after oral consumption and can last up to 4-6 hours. However, in 2015, Le Herbe revolutionized the cannabis industry with the introduction of a nanoemulsion. This scientific breakthrough enables consumers to feel the effects of THC within 5-10 minutes via oral consumption. No award or recognition necessary because history is watching.
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Long-Lasting
Figure 2: illustrates a comparison of cannabis metabolites in the blood over time for water-soluble formulations (fast-acting) versus oil-soluble formulations (long-lasting). Le Herbe's water-soluble formulations offer rapid onset and begin to dissipate within an hour, similar to alcohol. Additionally, for a diverse range of customized THC effects, we can blend fast-acting and long-lasting effects.
Le Herbe has spent 9 years mastering cannabis pharmacokinetics (how humans affect cannabinoids) and continues to research cannabis pharmacodynamics (how cannabinoids affect humans) in order to move our industry forward. We need to care more about our customers and formulations and less about fancy packaging.
FAQs
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What are cannabis derived cannabinoids?
Le Herbe has a rare collection of high-purity cannabinoids extracted from sun-grown cannabis. The most well-know is delta-9 THC (D9), but this beautiful plant has more than 150 cannabinoids. Each cannabinoid has a specific effect in isolation and/or in combination with other cannabinoids, terpenoids, or flavonoids.
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What is the difference between cannabis and hemp?
In the United States, cannabis is defined as having more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC and hemp as having less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Both terms refer to the same plant species, Cannabis sativa L., but the main difference is the concentration of chemical constituents.
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How do you make cannabis water soluble?
Le Herbe makes a cannabis emulsion that is dispersible in water. The resulting liquid emulsion is then spray-dried to form a water-soluble powder. Read our legendary white papers to learn more about how we make cannabis water-soluble.
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How should I consume THC powder?
Based on our bioavailability research (AUC), Le Herbe recommends consuming THC powder in your favorite drink before eating a high-fat meal.
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What is the onset effect of water soluble THC?
Le Herbe's THC powder has an onset effect of approximately 5-10 minutes (fast-acting). Results may vary depending on if you're feasting or fasting, your metabolism, your genetics, etc.
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What is the offset effect of water soluble THC?
Le Herbe's THC powder has an offset effect of approximately 1-2 hours (oral consumption). The peak effect is around 1 hour, after which it starts to slowly dissipate.
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What is the onset / offset effect of current cannabis edibles?
The majority of current edible products use oil-soluble formulations (Cannabis 1.0 / Legacy). They have an unpredictable onset effect (1-2 hours) and a variable offset effect (2-6 hours). In addition, you do not absorb the amount of cannabis stated on your product label.
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What is bioavailability?
Bioavailability is defined as the percentage of a drug dose that is able to enter circulation intact after it has been administered. The four main modes of drug delivery are intravenous, inhalation, transdermal, and oral.
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What is the bioavailability of oil soluble edibles?
If you buy a 10 mg cannabis edible that is oil-soluble, you will only be consuming about 1.5 mg of the active ingredient (D9).The other 8.5 mg is excreted from your body before you can absorb it. You just paid for 10 mg, but you only absorbed 1.5 mg of D9.
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How do you obtain a bioavailability rating?
Cannabis producers and processors will have to develop an in vitro gastrointestinal model in order to obtain an accurate rating (78.4%). We also recommend that you grade your cannabis nanoemulsion.
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How do you grow your cannabis?
Le Herbe blends high-quality plant genetics, biodynamic farming, sun-grown cannabis, designer extracts, and all-natural ingredients in our THC powder.
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What kind of cannabis extract do you use?
Le Herbe utilizes a proprietary cannabis extract that may contain a range of cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids, including hash rosin, live rosin, isolate, live resin, badder, distillate, and/or shatter.
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How much should I consume?
Le Herbe recommends 2-10 mg of THC per drink and not more than two drinks per hour. Go low and slow to build up your tolerance, and have fun finding the right dose amount for personalized enjoyment. Please remember that water-soluble THC is stronger than current edible products, so you may need to adjust your dosage.
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What is the strength of water soluble THC?
Absorption or bioavailability will be the new "alcohol proof" for the cannabis industry, which suggests the true strength of cannabis by quantitative data (78.4% ÷ 10 mg = 7.8 mg). This will also be a tell-tale sign to consumers that your products are professionally formulated using scientific methods and not based on pseudoscience.
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What can I mix with water soluble THC?
Le Herbe's water-soluble THC is handcrafted to dissolve in non-alcoholic liquid, but you can use our powder in modern cuisine. Utilize our THC powders in fine dining restaurants and transform them into foams, gelatins, spherification, or thickeners. All the technical hurdles or food science have been addressed by Le Herbe, so you can concentrate on creating depth of flavor, crafting cannabis mocktails, or building a consumer packaged good (CPG). Some of our clients in the USA, Canada, and Europe have crafted soups, sauces, cosmetics, cup cakes, k-cups, tea bags, lozenges, gum, mints, and tablets with our water-soluble cannabinoids.
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How do you formulate colors?
Le Herbe's team of acclaimed food scientists utilizes fruit and vegetable colors in our THC powders. They include anthocyanin, lycopene, algae, and carotenoids. The current organic portfolio contains blues, reds, yellows, oranges, and purples. They are flavorless and odorless.
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How long does it take for it to dissolve in water?
Complete dispersion or dissolution of Le Herbe's water-soluble powder will be accomplished within a few seconds in warm liquid and in about 30-60 seconds in cold liquid.
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What is micro and nano?
Le Herbe uses particle engineering in order to miniaturize cannabinoids and thus make them more effective. Micrometer (µm) or micron is usually a powder measurement because the particles are larger. Nanometer (nm) is usually a liquid measurement because the particles are smaller. Both size measurements can refer to percentiles (D10, D50, D90), average weighted by surface area (D[3,2]), average weighted by volume (D[4,3]), thickness of a particle shell, microparticle (powder), and/or nanoemulsion (liquid). Did you know that there are over 1,000,000 particles in a pinch of our THC powder?
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How do you measure particles?
Le Herbe measures cannabis microparticles (powder) with laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We measure a nanoemulsion (liquid) with multi-angle dynamic light scattering (MADLS). The instrument uses MIE theory and includes back (173°), side (90°) and front (13°) scattering data for an accurate measurement.
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Why is particle size important?
- Critical to wettability
- Critical to sinkability
- Critical to dispersibility
- Critical to solubility
- Critical to stability
- Critical to bioavailability
- Critical to compactibility
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What are a few critical material attributes?
Le Herbe recommends the following critical material attributes (CMA) for cannabis powder manufacturers.
- Particle Size
- Particle Shape
- Particle Size Distribution
- Cohesive / Adhesive Properties
- Moisture Content
- Electrostatic Properties (Zeta)
- Bulk / Tapped / True Density