Dosing: Whole plant or isolate?

CBD is having a moment.

The compound is popping up everywhere—from beauty products to beverages—and the cannabis world is abuzz with its potential to change the world, or at least the world of cannabis consumption.

Short for cannabidiol, CBD is a psychoactive, but non-intoxicating, cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. The compound is touted as a treatment for an array of conditions, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, inflammation and pain. Its forms are just as varied, ranging from oils to sprays, tinctures, balms and even a USFDA-approved drug south of the border.

Individuals new to CBD might find picking a product that suits their needs to be a daunting prospect. Cannabis shops stock full-spectrum and isolate versions of CBD, a difference that is important to make clear—or chance leaving novices feeling intimidated, overwhelmed or worse.

But is there any evidence that whole plant is better than isolates, or vice versa? As it turns out, there are advantages to both and having a firm grasp of the distinctions between the two can make all the difference when it comes to the efficacy of the product.

Often referred to as whole plant, full spectrum is “analogous to an unrefined, crude extract,” says Alexzander Samuelsson, lead chemist at Nextleaf Solutions and a cannabis scientist and educator better known as Alex the Chemist. “Basically, it is the result of a primary extraction without removing any of the ingredients originally found in the plant,” Samuelsson explains.

“An isolate, on the other hand, would go through a series of refinement and purification processes to remove compounds like fats, lipids, minerals and plant pigments, isolating the extract down to just CBD,” he points out.

Better or just different?

It’s less a matter of one being superior to the other; perhaps the more important question is what users want to accomplish with their consumption.

Full-spectrum CBD oils are commonly consumed orally or topically, with isolates used in those forms and also through vaping, which may give isolates an edge when it comes to convenience and portability.

If users or companies are looking to make their own formulation “with a known potency, you would want to start off with isolates,” Samuelsson suggests. “If your intention is to develop a product that more accurately represents the composition of the natural plant, with all the compounds of the plant itself, you would use a full-spectrum extract,” he notes.

“One thing that most people aren’t aware of is that CBD has the potential to interact with other medications,” he says, noting as an example that he is particularly concerned for seniors, many of whom are taking drugs such as the blood thinner, Warfarin.

“CBD and Warfarin utilize the P450 enzyme within the liver, so you can actually increase the amount of Warfarin in your blood because your body is too busy breaking down the CBD. This may have potentially negative impacts on a person’s health that were not previously considered by their doctor,” Samuelsson reports.

Users of medications may benefit from starting with an isolate as opposed to a full-spectrum CBD product, as it could minimize the potential of an interaction. That said, it is unclear whether isolate’s concentration provides superior efficacy.

Although before 2015, it was believed that CBD isolate oils were a superior treatment option because of their concentration, a study by Jerusalem’s Lautenberg Centre found that more efficient pain relief could be achieved with the use of full-spectrum CBD oil. The finding suggests that cannabinoids and other elements of the plant may provide a “halo”—a mechanism by which mostly non-psychoactive compounds have an effect on the overall psychoactive effects of the drug—or “entourage effect” that maximizes its benefits.

More study needed to reach conclusions

Cannabis studies exploring everything from seniors to hockey players are under way, but much more research is needed before the scientific community can fully comprehend the reason for those, and other, results.

Whether full-spectrum or isolate, CBD dosing can be difficult to determine without some personal experimentation, as individual reactions are subjective and can vary wildly from person to person.

“The cannabis plant and its components are yet to be fully understood and more evidence-based studies are needed,” McGill University psychiatrist and CBD researcher Dr. Gabriella Gobbi noted in a press release last summer. “CBD oil is increasingly prescribed by physicians around the globe who are looking for clinical and other scientific studies to provide further guidance,” Dr. Gobbi said in a statement announcing a three-year research project investigating the pain relief properties of CBD oil by exploring its mechanism of action in pain and associated depression and anxiety.

Whether full-spectrum or isolate, CBD dosing can be difficult to determine without some personal experimentation, as individual reactions are subjective and can vary wildly from person to person.

Samuelsson cites the oft-repeated mantra, “start low and go slow,” as a good rule of thumb for beginners, whether consuming isolate or full-spectrum CBD. “The effective dose will probably wear off within about three to five hours, maybe up to eight, depending on the person and their own individual metabolism, what they ate and other individual factors,” he notes.

Another important factor to consider is the source. CBD is legal in Canada, but regulations dictate that products containing cannabinoids be manufactured exclusively by licensed producers (LPs), despite the plethora of products available on the illicit market.

Samuelsson recommends that new users source their products from “legal, licensed companies, as they are required to produce these products in a highly regulated environment, and the products themselves must undergo strict testing before they are sold.” Licenced products are tested by laboratories licensed by Health Canada for elements such as potency and pesticides.

Products that come from unlicensed companies don’t follow the strict requirements set for LPs, and may be inaccurately labelled, Samuelsson says.

Above all, safety is the most important factor. “No matter where you’re starting, you want to make sure that you know what you are ingesting, and that the product itself is safe for consumption,” he emphasizes.