A-Z of CBD

Like many things in life, there’s a lot more to CBD oil than meets the eye. Three different formulas to be precise; known as full spectrum CBD oil, CBD oil isolate and CBD broad spectrum. You might have heard of them, but which one to go for? You’d be forgiven for thinking each one is referring perhaps to a different strength, but it’s actually all about what compounds are present (and are not)… more on that later. So, time to explain each one so you can make an informed decision on what works for you.

The cannabis plant contains hundreds of cannabinoid compounds. While CBD and THC are the most well-known, there’s also cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC) and plenty more mentioned in our blog: Feeling Canna-curious? Add these to the phytonutrient compounds (flavonoids) and scent compounds (terpenes) and you can see that CBD has a lot going on.

Let’s delve a little deeper to find out why we’ve decided to make CBII full spectrum…

First up is CBD isolate, interestingly the purest form of any compound, just so you know. And once upon a time, isolates were hailed as the best form of CBD available. To get this type of formula the CBD is extracted, then purified and filtered to remove all the terpenes, flavonoids and other cannabinoids like THC. The result is a flavourless, odourless and usually comparatively inexpensive CBD oil containing zero THC compound.

However, emerging research has suggested that pure isolate CBD may be missing the components we’ve already mentioned. Plus, the extraction process to remove the THC and other components makes for a CBD product that is ‘less like the plant.’

A bit like its name suggests, full spectrum CBD keeps many compounds like terpenes, flavonoids and other cannabinoids intact (unlike CBD isolate). Brands like CBII who use this type of extract are closer to how it would be found in the original plant and result in a possibly stronger flavour or scent.

To get full spectrum CBD, CBII uses an ethanol extraction process, which is one of the solvents approved by the European food safety authority (EFSA).

Now for broad spectrum CBD

This one is less common in the UK, so you may not have heard of it, but we wanted to share it with you anyway so you are firmly put in the whole CBD picture! So, what is broad spectrum CBD oil? Like full spectrum CBD, many of the other compounds found within the plant are preserved in the extract. However, like CBD isolate, THC is completely removed. It also results in a possibly stronger flavour or scent.

Here’s a useful diagram to help show the comparisons between each:  

So, there you have it. We hope we’ve helped you on your journey and you are now feeling more confident to choose the right CBD oil for you.