CBD (Cannabidiol)
CBD is on everyone's lips. But what exactly CBD is and how it can be used is explained in detail by an expert in this blog post.
AUTHOR
Philip Schmiedhofer, MSc
Medical Engineer & Neuroscientist
Table of contents
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a plant-based substance that is mainly extracted from the hemp plant, but can also be produced synthetically.
CBD is actually a substance with many effects in the body. This effect is called multimodal. CBD is therefore particularly important for use in the health sector.
The use of CBD is just as diverse as its mode of action. The CBD in the hemp plant is mainly produced in the flowers.
Who hasn't seen them before, the small dropper bottles with various CBD concentrations (e.g. 5% CBD oil or 10% CBD oil), flavors or additional ingredients?
In principle, CBD is legal in Austria. However, the devil is always in the detail and here too in the claims of CBD products.
What is CBD?
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a plant-based substance that is mainly extracted from the hemp plant, but can also be produced synthetically. CBD is a so-called cannabinoid.
Hanf, auch Cannabis sativa L. genannt, ist eine der ältesten Kulturpflanzen der Welt und wird für die Erzeugung von Nahrungsmitteln, Fasern für Papier, Textilien und Baustoffe sowie Inhaltsstoffe für die Medizin verwendet. Hanf wird von Bauern seit den neunziger Jahren wieder legal kultiviert und die Pflanze wird im Herbst geerntet. Hanf unterscheidet sich von Cannabis, das durch seine Rauschwirkung bekannt ist, aufgrund seiner Wuchsform und dem charakteristischen psychoaktiven Inhaltsstoff THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol).
The THC content in industrial hemp is very low (less than 0.3 %) and a narcotic effect through consumption is therefore excluded. The CBD content in industrial hemp is many times higher (~ 20 x) and is therefore a good raw material for extracting CBD from it.
CBD is generally not psychotropic and therefore does not produce an intoxicating effect. However, this does not mean that CBD has no effect.
What does CBD do?
CBD is actually a substance with many effects in the body. This effect is called multimodal. CBD is therefore particularly important for use in the health sector. CBD can interact with many proteins in the body and activate (over 80 different docking sites), inhibit or modulate receptors and enzymes.
In fact, the effects are so diverse that it is difficult for researchers to pinpoint the medical effects to individual mechanisms of action. CBD is said to have the following properties, which have also been partially confirmed by clinical research:
- Anticonvulsant effect
- Anxiolytic effect
- Anti-inflammatory effect
- Antioxidant effect
- Anticancer effect
- Pain-relieving effect
Due to these properties, CBD can be helpful for many diseases, as it supports the body during regeneration. To date, however, there is only one approved medication for childhood epilepsy that is based exclusively on the active ingredient CBD. The dose is decisive for the effect of CBD. For medical use, daily doses of at least 300 mg CBD are required for oral administration in order to record significant effects in studies.
Of course, this does not mean that lower doses cannot have positive effects on the body, but a promise of healing cannot be plausibly proven. Therefore, as with many other plant substances, CBD is also used in food supplements. These are currently in the approval phase due to European law (Novel Food Regulation).
How can you use CBD?
The use of CBD is just as diverse as its mode of action. The CBD in the hemp plant is mainly produced in the flowers. Hemp flowers have therefore been used and processed as a natural product since time immemorial. Tinctures or teas could be made from them.
Technological innovation makes it possible to produce extracts from plant substances, which in the case of Cannabis sativa L. contain the characteristic ingredients, the cannabinoids (including CBD or THC) and also terpenes (essential components).
As a result, processing has changed significantly and there are more and more products on the market that contain hemp extracts. CBD oils have become particularly popular both in medicine and for recreational use. Here, the fat-soluble components of the hemp extract are dissolved in various oils and used as tinctures.
Various cosmetic products also contain extracts with CBD. CBD extracts can be purified to such an extent that pure CBD remains. This crystalline form of CBD can be dosed more precisely and is therefore used in innovative products that rely on a consistent dosage.
The variety of products with CBD is enormous.
What products with CBD are available?
CBD oils
Who hasn't seen them before, the small dropper bottles with various CBD concentrations (e.g. 5% CBD oil or 10% CBD oil), flavors or additional ingredients? These have been sold across Europe in various stores, pharmacies and online for almost 10 years. CBD oils are therefore the most common, most widely used CBD product with the largest market volume. As with all products, there are of course significant differences in the quality of CBD oils and a trustworthy manufacturer is therefore essential.
CBD flowers
The breeding of new genetics that contain higher concentrations of CBD (~10%) with a low THC content, and therefore non-intoxicating effects, has led to a real hype around CBD flowers. These are declared as smoking products and are usually smoked or vaporized in a vaporizer.
CBD Vapes
Electronic cigarettes with CBD offer an innovative alternative to smoking and therefore to burning plant substances, some of which are carcinogenic but certainly not beneficial to health. So-called CBD vapes are therefore available in different concentrations and flavors, similar to CBD oils.
CBD capsules
People's convenience has inevitably led to CBD being available in capsule form. The precise dosage and ease of use offer a good alternative to other CBD products.
CBD fruitgums
Fruit gums with CBD are also a popular lifestyle product. Of course, there are many colors, flavors and concentrations of CBD on the market.
Medicine with CBD
Epidiolex is currently the only approved finished medicinal product (10% CBD in solution) for childhood epilepsy (Dravet syndrome and Lennox Gastaut syndrome) that is based solely on CBD.
Sativex, a finished medicinal product containing 50% THC and 50% CBD, is used to treat spasticity in MS (multiple sclerosis).
CBD for the production of magistral products in pharmacies is a common way to produce medicine with CBD in the form of CBD oil or CBD capsules.
Medical products with CBD
The first medical product with CBD has been available on the European market since 2021. CANNEFF CBD suppositories are used for the rapid healing and regeneration of diseases of the mucous membranes in the intimate area. CANNEFF VAG SUP CBD suppositories offer a hormone-free alternative with the combination of hyaluronic acid and CBD for the treatment of vaginal dryness, painful intercourse or vaginal atrophy. CANNEFF SUP CBD rectal suppositories provide rapid relief and regeneration of symptoms of haemorrhoids, fissures and lesions, proctitis and non-specific inflammation in the rectum.
Is CBD legal?
In principle, CBD is legal in Austria. However, the devil is always in the detail and here too in the claims of CBD products. Due to the Novel Food Regulation, CBD oils for use as food supplements are not marketable until they have been successfully approved by the EFSA. CBD flowers, CBD cosmetics, CBD in medicine and CBD in medical technology are legally compliant products if they meet all the requirements of the legal provisions. (e.g. successful approval for medicines and medical devices).
Quellen
- AGES - Hanf unter der Lupe
- CBD als Lebensmittel, Arzneimittel oder Kosmetikum – eine rechtliche und wissenschaftliche Einschätzung - Niermann/Bernhard Beitzke/Gerhard Nahler/Kruse, ZLR 2024, 32-52
- cannmedic
- cannhelp
- EMA
- BAG - Behandlungsempfehlungen für den Einsatz von Cannabisarzneimitteln
- Trigal Pharma
- EIHA - Hanf Definition
- Izzo et al. 2009
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