Soluble cannabinoid ingredients manufacturer and supplier Caliper Ingredients and Colorado State University (CSU) have completed what they’re calling the CBD industry’s first human clinical study of commercially available CBD-infused food and supplement product pharmacokinetics.
According to the study, published in a special edition of “Pharmaceuticals – Cannabidiol: Advances in Therapeutic Applications and Future Perspectives,” Caliper’s suite of soluble cannabinoid ingredients demonstrated superior absorption versus other standard CBD ingredient formulations.
The rate and speed of absorption, demonstrated by pharmacokinetics, are essential to understanding the efficacy of any dietary supplement, including CBD. Pharmacokinetic studies are critical to providing the scientific foundation for claims such as “fast acting,” “long lasting” or “superior bioavailability.”
The study represents the first human clinical substantiation of such a claim, as well as the first to do so using commercially available beverage, food and supplement products:
- Caliper 5% CBD Liquid Concentrate delivered CBD into the bloodstream 424 times faster than isolate, and 64 times faster than tincture, in the 30 minutes following ingestion, based on a comparison of observed circulating blood levels of CBD.
- Caliper 20% CBD Liquid Concentrate delivered CBD into the bloodstream 218 times faster than isolate, and 33 times faster than tincture, in the 30 minutes following ingestion, based on a comparison of observed circulating blood levels of CBD.
- Caliper 5% CBD Powder delivered CBD into the bloodstream 142 times faster than isolate, and 22 times faster than tincture, in the 30 minutes following ingestion, based on a comparison of observed circulating blood levels of CBD.
Clinical Substantiation, Formulation Matters
“It is critical to our ingredient customers and to their consumers that the ingredients in their products are not only safe, but true to their claims,” said Jolene Jacobs, general manager of Caliper Ingredients. “Our customers’ investment in the products they have developed, and the brand loyalty they have built, is one of many reasons we believe that formulation matters – and why we have invested heavily in a well-designed clinical study from a credible academic source.”
Jacobs explained that Caliper has spent considerable time and energy battling charlatanism in the the CBD marketplace, including lobbying the FDA and Congress to place a higher priority on CBD and proactively implement measures that will hold manufacturers to the same standards for labeling accuracy, manufacturing controls, and claims substantiation as non-CBD food & supplement products.
The lack of FDA regulation of the CBD industry has left not just consumers but reputable brands exposed, added Jacobs.
Dr. Christopher Bell, lead researcher with the CSU team, explained that more than 20 million Americans use CBD daily, and trends show that number continuing to rise.
“But there is so little we understand about CBD, and how everything from product format to individual physiology can affect circulating blood concentrations over time,” Bell said. “The industry simply lacks basic scientific research and substantiation. We partnered with Caliper because they share our drive to better understand CBD and its effects on the human body, which was why testing with humans – and publishing the results in a peer-reviewed journal – was essential.
Study Methodology
Conducted by CSU research scientists, the crossover, double-blind, randomized pharmacokinetic study set out to characterize the bioavailability of cannabidiol (CBD) in a variety of formulations and formats.
The study involved 15 healthy men and women, ages 21-62, each consuming 30 mg of CBD in five distinct product formats. Three of Caliper’s proprietary dissolvable CBD formulations were tested against two controls: a standardized, oil-based CBD tincture and a CBD isolate, which together represent the two of the more common CBD product formats available to consumers today. Participants provided intravenous blood samples prior to ingestion, and then at regular intervals over the ensuing four hours.
Caliper supplies standardized, shelf-stable formulations of water-soluble cannabinoid ingredients to quality-focused food, beverage, supplement, and cosmetic manufacturers.