The hemp industry is so advanced and diverse today that it is hard to believe that it’s been around for only a little over a decade. But, the reality is that in just a handful of years, teams of manufacturers, cultivators, researchers, and scientists have come together to offer a stunning variety of hemp-infused products that are more effective than ever before. Not only do we have a wider selection of products to choose from than in the past, but many of today’s hemp formulas absorb into the body more efficiently to offer bioavailability levels never thought to be possible before.
One of the most directly beneficial advancements in recent years is the incorporation of nanotechnology into the world of hemp manufacturing. This advanced science has led to stronger and more diverse effects of cannabinoids and terpenes that lead to real results when consumed. Nanotechnology is undoubtedly a gamechanger, and it’s being increasingly integrated into today’s hemp market.
Nanotechnology: The Basics
“Nano” means small, and nanotechnology is, to put it simply, the process of converting something into smaller particles. Nano particles are not possible to see with the naked eye, and nanotechnology is a relatively new concept that relies on modern technology.
Nanotechnology in the general sense has all kinds of applications, from benefiting the environment to reducing manufacturing costs for industries. It can be used to clean water and other natural resources by shrinking and dissecting individual particles, and it can be used in medicine to improve the absorption of nutrients, medications and more.
When applied to the hemp market, it can shrink the particles of hemp molecules so that they absorb more effectively into the body. The shrinking of these particles automatically converts oil-soluble hemp into a water-soluble form. By nature, hemp is oil-soluble, as the plant’s naturally occurring essential oils are what carry the desirable compounds into the body. Water-soluble hemp compounds change the way in which these compounds enter and get distributed throughout the body, in a way that directly benefits consumers.
With nanotechnology, particles are measured in nanometers. This is done by lowering the scale of individual atoms, molecules and supramolecular formulations, to scale them down to anywhere from 1 to 100 individual nanometers. This has proven to be extremely useful in the technology world, where microchips are becoming smaller and smaller without losing efficiency. Plus, it’s changing the world of medicine by altering the way organic compounds behave when they enter the body, based on their size which determines their pathway into the various systems that are being targeted.
Applying Nanotechnology to the Hemp Market
When we talk about “water-soluble hemp”, we’re referring to an extract that dissolves in water rather than oil. So, why is this so important? Well, we know that oil-soluble hemp works. Most of the hemp products we consume are oil-soluble, and hemp has a high bioavailability level which means that these compounds absorb into the system just fine in this form, allowing their properties to be effective once they mingle with the body’s systems. But, oil-soluble hemp is still not as bioavailable as it can be. This is because of the simple scientific principle that water, and oil don’t mix. The body’s naturally high water content means that when these oil-based compounds enter, they do not absorb as efficiently as they can since their high oil content causes a lot of their makeup to get metabolized before it penetrates the water-based tissue of the body and gets integrated on a cellular level.
Therefore, water-soluble hemp is the solution to maximum bioavailability. The hemp compounds are fully dissolved by the body’s own water content, thus allowing them to interact far more effectively with the body on a cellular level. Without a doubt, water-soluble hemp can yield stronger results because of this. This makes it more effective and more likely to help a person experience the properties that they’re seeking out. This also enhances the onset time of hemp products, as the more efficiently they absorb, the faster they reach the targeted areas of the body to deliver their effects.
Think about it this way: imagine your oral tissue and digestive tissue as a chain-link fence. Now, imagine that oil-soluble CBD or delta 8 is a big box of ping pong balls. If you were to throw all of those balls at the fence, only some of them would get through to the other side, due to their large size. The rest would simply bounce off of the wire.
Next, imagine that you could divide those ping pong balls into a million smaller balls. Throwing them at the fence means that much more of the product actually gets into the area beyond the fence.
When we consume oil-soluble hemp, we aren’t allowing all of it to absorb where we want it to, which means we never fully get to experience the effects we’re seeking out. A lot of those oil-based droplets fail to penetrate our water-based tissue, and instead they just get metabolized and essentially wasted. Nanotechnology changes this so that the water-soluble form of hemp penetrates this tissue very easily.
There is a more practical benefit to water-soluble CBD and other derivatives as well. It broadens the potential for new hemp formulas. Trying to put an oil into a water-based beverage, for instance, will not yield a fully homogenous end result, because again, water and oil simply do not mix. Water-soluble hemp dissolves in liquids beautifully, which means that we can enjoy a wider variety of hemp-infused formulations.
The Process of Applying Nanotechnology to Hemp Manufacturing
We now know the benefits of nanotechnology when applied to the production of hemp products, but how is this process actually performed? Well first of all, you need to know that not all water-soluble hemp on the market is made using nanotechnological methods.
Glycosylation
An alternative method is glycosylation, and this is the process of infusing a product with sugar molecules which naturally attract water particles, as sugar is broken down by water. Glycosylation is a cheap method, but it’s not all that reliable, since there are too many variables involved, and it doesn’t seem to offer higher enough bioavailability to make the process worth it.
Nano-Emulsion
Nano-emulsion is the best method for converting an oil-soluble component into a water-soluble form, and this is the use of nanotechnology to convert particles into nanoparticles. It emulsifies the compounds on a nano scale, but the process is not as foreign as you may think. Emulsion is a technique that’s common in cooking, relying on incorporating fat into a liquid to change its solubility level. Any time you make a salad dressing by combining an oil with vinegar, you are creating an emulsion. Once that emulsion is complete, you can add water-based ingredients without the fat of the oil separating. Creating nanoparticles out of hemp follows the same principle, but on a much smaller scale which drastically increases its water-solubility while making the emulsion far more stable in the long-term.
Water-Soluble Hemp: An Industry Gamechanger with Real Advantages
Water-soluble hemp produced using nanotechnology changes the way in which we experience the properties of the hemp plant, enhancing bioavailability so that the properties are more effective. While not all companies carry water-soluble hemp, it is available in the same formulas that you’re used to.
Farma Barn offers water-soluble formulas made using cutting-edge nano-emulsion techniques as we know that this technology can have significantly positive impacts on your hemp routine.