Better bioavailability
Okay, bear with us for a minute as we dive into some science. We want to talk about the differing paths of absorption for ingested fats. This is important to understand when choosing an oil-based tincture, like our Universal Cannabis Tonic. There are many products on the Oregon market, and they might look similar at first glance. But our tonic is unique in a few important ways, and we want to talk about one of these distinctions.
First, some chemistry. Triglycerides are the main constituents of fat in both animals and plants. A triglyceride is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. Fatty acids have a tail of carbon atoms, the length of which classifies it as short-chain, medium-chain, or long-chain. Short and medium-chain triglycerides have a differing path of absorption than long-chain triglycerides. All triglycerides must be broken down by the digestive system into their fatty acid constituents for absorption.
Most oil-based tinctures are made with CO2 extracted cannabis concentrate, dissolved into fractionated coconut oil. Fractionated coconut oil is comprised of 100% medium-chain triglycerides, which is why it is sometimes referred to as MCT. Fractionated coconut oil is appealing to a cannabis tincture maker because it is tasteless, clear-colored, and stays liquid over a broad range of temperatures (virgin coconut oil is a solid at temperatures below room temp). There has been a surge of interest in fractionated coconut oil over the past ten years for its use as a health supplement.
While not all of these health claims are supported by data, what is certain about fractionated coconut oil is that the medium-chain fatty acids it contains are absorbed passively in the digestive system, potentially making it a good option for administering oil soluble medications orally for people with malabsorption disorders.
Sounds good, right? So why don’t we use fractionated coconut oil in our Universal Cannabis Tonic? Well, when medium-chain fatty acids are absorbed, they are transported directly to the liver. The cannabinoids that are carried in them must pass through the liver, undergoing first-pass liver metabolism before they pass into general circulation. Metabolism by the liver alters the chemical structure of the cannabinoids before they are able to circulate around the body, in ways that we are just beginning to understand.
But not all fats must pass through the liver before reaching systemic circulation. Long-chain fatty acids are absorbed into the lymphatic system, where they are transported to the heart and enter the circulatory system. Cannabinoids carried by long-chain fatty acids are distributed and stored around the entire body, bypassing first-pass liver metabolism.
Universal Cannabis Tonic is made with a blend of organic Almond oil and organic Virgin Coconut Oil. Our oil blend is comprised of 87% long-chain fatty acids, and 13% medium-chain fatty acids. We think that the abundance of long-chain fatty acids in our tonics greatly increases the bioavailability of the cannabinoids, making them more effective at a lower dose than fractionated coconut oil-based tinctures.
Here is some fascinating research done on rats, not humans, that shows the increased absorption of cannabinoids when co-administered with long-chain triglycerides.