Bioavailability is one of the most important factors in providing effective CBD treatment. People who take oversaturated, low-quality CBD products will not receive the relief they are looking for. “The term bioavailability refers to the fraction of an administered dose of [CBD] that reaches the systemic circulation” (Cannabinoids and the Brain 2018). Basically, only a small amount of the administered dose of CBD will be absorbed depending on the route of administration; oral dose, smoking/vaping, sublingual, topical, and suppository methods all absorb into the bloodstream differently, some methods being more bioavailable than others. The higher the bioavailability rate, the more CBD will absorb into your system. For example, the smoke/vape method has a higher bioavailability rate than the oral method, allowing more cannabinoids to stimulate cannabinoid receptors.

Oral Method:

The oral method of CBD administration is the most common within the CBD industry. Most CBD companies make CBD Oil, which is based with an oil such as hemp oil or MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride). You cannot use CBD Oil sublingually because oil/fats/lipids cannot surpass the mostly water compatible membrane of the mouth called Stratum layers that lie above the blood vessels of the mouth. So in order to use oil based CBD correctly, it must be swallowed, through the esophagus, digested by your stomach, absorbed by your small intestine, to be metabolized by the liver with CP450 enzymes (ProjectCBD.org). This whole process takes 2-6 hours (C&B 2018) with raw CBD oil or 30 minutes – 2 hours if using a carrier oil such as hemp oil or MTC. The oral method has a bioavailability rate of around 6% (C&B 2018), lasting about 4 hours, making it one of the lesser effective forms of administration in terms of onset time and bioavailability but can work well as an extended-release treatment. Taking oral CBD with a fatty meal increases its effects by up to 14x.

Smoking/vape method:

The smoking/vaping method of cannabis is the most common form of cannabinoid administration because of it’s rapid onset of relief and the convenience of titrating doses (spacing them out by small doses at a time) to control their overall level of relief. The bioavailability rate of smoking/vaping is around 25%(C&B 2018), almost 5x higher than the oral method. The only downside is, is that each dose administered by smoking lasts for under an hour, with an initial effect and peak time within 6-10min with a 60% peak 15 minutes after the initial dose (C&B 2018). Smoking is more bioavailable than vaping because the combusted cannabinoids are broken down into much smaller particles, making it easier for your capillaries in your lungs to absorb. Vaping does not combust any cannabinoids. It heats up at a temperature of around 400F, turning the cannabinoids into a clean, thicker-particle vapor that takes longer to absorb into the capillaries of the lungs. So to make vaporizing as efficient as smoking, you need to hold it in your lungs for seconds longer in order to keep the same 25% bioavailability rate. Overall, smoking and vaping is a great, quick, and bioavailable way to get cannabinoids in your system.

Sublingual Method:

The sublingual method is the perfect middle ground between oral and smoking methods. Sublingual dosing is administered under the tongue to be absorbed straight into the bloodstream. In order to properly use the sublingual under the tongue method of administering a dose, you need the right formula of CBD Tincture. A formula that is water compatible at the very least is required to make the most out of your sublingual dose. As mentioned in the Oral Method section, oil-based CBD has a hard time absorbing through the blood vessels under the tongue, making it an inadequate way to seek relief. Having a water-based formula makes it possible to absorb under the tongue, with a bioavailability rate of 10-20%, taking effect within 30 minutes after the initial dose, and lasting up to 4 hours of steady relief. The bioavailability rate, initial dose onset, and the long-lasting effects make it the best form of administration. It will save you time, money, and comfort finding the right sublingual CBD formula. These sublingual, water-based CBD products are what here at Green Life Innovations focuses on to provide the best therapeutic value, covering a number of CBD-type cannabinoids, terpenes, and few water-based inactive ingredients to provide a powerful, synergistic effect that rises above all.

Conclusion:

At the end of the day, bioavailability is the most important factor when it comes to CBD and medicine because if bioavailability/absorption rate was 0%, then nothing would metabolize and work how it should. This is why CBD companies need to focus on manufacturing full/broad spectrum cannabinoid formulas with water-based carriers to make the absorption rate as high as possible, rather than using CBD isolate carried in hemp seed or MCT oil that provides little to no effect. Avoid these products. They’re cheap but very ineffective, so it is not worth the money if you are looking for true therapeutic values. While the oral method has to travel through your GI tract, taking around 2 hours to take effect, with a bioavailability rate of around 6%, smoking takes effect instantly with a bioavailability rate of around 25%, and sublingual method that takes 30 minutes to kick in with a bioavailability rate of 10-20% (depending on how long you hold it under your tongue for), the sublingual methods takes the cake, seeming like the most effective form of administering CBD based on the statistics.