Full spectrum CBD oil: its benefits explained
What is full spectrum CBD oil?
Full spectrum CBD oil is a hemp-derived product rich in cannabidiol (CBD) that also contains a wide variety of natural compounds found in the plant, including cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. This type of CBD oil is characterised by keeping all the plant’s natural components, unlike CBD isolate, which consists solely of pure CBD.
Composition of full spectrum CBD oil
A full hemp extract contains more than 60 cannabinoids, 200 terpenes and a wide variety of flavonoids, which complement and enhance the action of CBD (1, 2). All these plant components are found in full spectrum CBD oil, with CBD being the main component of the extract.
Full spectrum CBD oil contains a multitude of compounds as well as CBD. Pure CBD oil contains only one cannabinoid: CBD.
Below you’ll find much more about the benefits of full spectrum CBD: its components, the types of cannabinoids it contains and their properties.
Benefits of full spectrum CBD oil
Pain and inflammation relief
CBD oil has stood out for its potential to relieve pain, especially chronic and neuropathic pain. Numerous studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system is involved in controlling pain and inflammation. CBD has been associated with reduced pain and inflammation without producing psychoactive effects.
The use of CBD oil has shown promising results in managing chronic pain, allowing lower doses of opioids to be given and reducing the side effects associated with this strong medication. For this reason, it is considered a valuable therapeutic option that can improve patients’ quality of life.
However, it is important to stress that the effectiveness of CBD oil treatment for pain can vary from one person to another, owing to the complexity of pain and individual differences. Before starting any treatment with CBD oil, seeking professional medical advice is recommended to assess whether it is suitable and safe in each specific case.
We offer 30ml and 10ml cannabidiol oils in different concentrations.
Support for mental and emotional wellbeing
CBD has been the subject of numerous scientific studies supporting its use to support emotional wellbeing. Research on CBD oil in neuropsychiatry has demonstrated its anxiolytic and antipsychotic properties. Clinical studies have revealed that high doses of THC can induce anxiety and psychotic symptoms, whereas giving CBD and THC together can mitigate these adverse effects.
CBD has an anxiolytic effect by modulating the emotional response to fear, reducing activity in brain areas such as the anterior cingulate and the amygdala. In addition, CBD has been observed to inhibit the enzyme FAAH, which increases endocannabinoid signalling and may improve endocannabinoid tone, which is linked to trauma processing and psychopathology.
In the field of CBD for schizophrenia, clinical studies have shown that it may have therapeutic effects on psychotic symptoms, without producing the side effects associated with conventional antipsychotics. As for CBD for treating anxiety, it has been shown to reduce anxiety levels in stressful situations such as public speaking, and has been effective in social anxiety disorder. Although more research is still needed and there are questions yet to be answered, current findings support the potential of CBD as a therapeutic option in the field of neuropsychiatry.
Better sleep and quality of rest
The endocannabinoid system also plays an important role in regulating circadian rhythms and sleep, and different cannabinoids can affect the sleep/wake cycle and sleep architecture. Anandamide and THC have been shown to affect slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, while the endocannabinoid system in general modulates the activity of the circadian pacemaker and other circadian clocks in the body.
As for CBD, it has been observed that it can help you sleep by reducing anxiety, promoting relaxation and relieving pain. It works by interacting with serotonin receptors, which can promote a sense of wellbeing and reduce any discomfort that might interfere with sleep.
What does full spectrum mean?
The term “full spectrum” refers to the combination of various compounds present in the oil, which allows a synergistic effect between them. This interaction, known as the “entourage effect”, is believed to enhance the therapeutic benefits of each component, resulting in a more effective product than CBD isolate.
As well as CBD, full spectrum CBD oil may contain other cannabinoids such as cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidivarin (CBDV) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at very low levels (generally less than 0.3% in legal hemp products). These THC levels are not enough to cause significant psychoactive effects.
Advantages of full spectrum CBD
The main advantage of full spectrum CBD oil is that it provides different active ingredients, such as minor cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids. Like an orchestra, these components work in synergy to enhance the benefits of CBD, in what is known as the cannabis entourage effect. Therefore, the effect of full spectrum CBD extract is more powerful than that of oil made with pure CBD or CBD isolate.
More active ingredients
Researchers are discovering that cannabis has more therapeutic components besides CBD and THC. In recent years, the other components of the cannabis plant have also shown possible therapeutic applications, highlighting the benefits of full spectrum CBD oil.
In fact, the cannabis plant has a very extensive phytochemical richness: more than 400 compounds have been isolated from cannabis. The cannabinoids CBD and THC are the ones that have attracted the most interest. However, a full extraction of hemp also carries over other interesting components that enhance the action of cannabinoids, or that even regulate or complement their effects.
The non-cannabinoid substances involved in the benefits of full spectrum CBD oil include terpenes and flavonoids, such as cannflavin A, cannflavin B, cannflavin C, linalool, limonene, myrcene, alpha- and beta-pinene, geraniol, bisabolol, borneol, guaiol, anthocyanins, luteolin, orientin, apigenin, isovitexin, quercetin… among others. Some of these substances are known to be part of healthy foods, medicinal plants and their essential oils, and most of them have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
Stronger CBD effects: synergies in the extract matrix
Full spectrum extract contains a multitude of cannabinoids and other substances naturally present in the hemp plant, which we call the CBD extract matrix. It is this matrix of substances that produces the effects of CBD oil in activating the endocannabinoid system.
Scientific studies have observed that terpenes have a synergistic effect when combined with cannabinoids, modifying their benefits and therapeutic effect. This is known as the entourage effect (3). In addition, flavonoids have well-known benefits for the body. For this reason, some experts consider that the effects of full spectrum CBD oil are better than those of pure CBD or CBD isolate oil.
Every drop of full spectrum CBD oil holds a group of molecules that act together, producing a more pronounced effect on the body.
The entourage or synergistic effect of CBD
The first scientific group to describe the interactions between hemp’s components was led by Raphael Mechoulam, famous for being the first to characterise the THC molecule. In 1998 he observed that certain compounds produced by the body itself, inactive on their own, enhanced the activity of the endocannabinoid 2-AG (4), and shortly afterwards the same group proposed that something similar could happen between the components of the cannabis plant.
The finding suggested that the effect of cannabinoids such as CBD depended on the matrix of the preparation, and not only on a single cannabinoid in isolation. In his work, Mechoulam details the complex molecular interactions that result in this phenomenon, which the authors named the “entourage effect”. For example, the interaction between THC and CBD is extensively documented, which is why the medicine Sativex (nabiximols) (indicated for spasticity in multiple sclerosis) uses both cannabinoids in its composition (5).
Full spectrum CBD oil offers much more than CBD. Every drop holds a group of molecules that act together, producing a more pronounced effect on the body.
Possible therapeutic applications of full spectrum CBD
Although there is a lot of information on the subject, the entourage effect hypothesis does not yet have solid scientific evidence, as the neurologist and cannabis researcher Ethan Russo admits. However, he himself acknowledges that it is clear that the matrix of the extract determines its effect: “For decades I had been hearing anecdotes about cannabis strains that affected people differently: one might be good for relieving pain, while another might improve sleep”, Russo says in an interview. “The explanation possibly lies in the fact that terpenes, which include compounds known as essential oils, could enhance the effects of cannabinoids” (6).
In this respect, there is literature supporting the interaction between terpenes and cannabinoids (7). In addition, endocannabinoid receptors have been described in detail (8), and these in turn can interact with flavonoids; it is widely known that flavonoids have beneficial effects on the body.
In short, the theory of synergies between hemp’s components is more than plausible and would explain why full spectrum CBD oil has a different therapeutic effect from oil that contains only CBD. However, it involves a complex and intricate network of chain reactions that are difficult to isolate.
In the future, as scientific research advances, we expect hemp strains to be grown with an increasingly specialised profile, depending on their therapeutic purpose.
Full spectrum CBD oil contains a multitude of cannabinoids as well as CBD, with effects on the body.
As a full extraction, it also contains flavonoids and terpenes naturally present in the hemp plant, which enhance and complement the effect of cannabinoids and CBD. Pure CBD oil contains only one cannabinoid: CBD, which has been separated from the other components of the hemp plant.
Types of full spectrum CBD oil offered by Cannactiva
At Cannactiva we offer you two types of full spectrum CBD oil:
- Original Full Spectrum CBD Oil - Unrefined: contains the pure extract of the hemp plant, including waxes and chlorophylls, with a bitter aroma, which give the extract more benefits.
- Full Spectrum CBD Oil - Purified: an extract like the previous one that has gone through a filtering process to remove waxes and chlorophylls. The result is a full spectrum CBD oil that keeps all the cannabinoids but has a more pleasant, neutral aroma, which most people tolerate better.
Please remember that this is an informative article that aims to bring the current information available in scientific studies to the general public. It is not intended to treat or prevent any disease. Consult your specialist doctor before using CBD.
