The technology
The therapeutic value of cannabis is found in its active ingredients which, together with other natural substances, form the phytocomplex. The technology used for the cultivation and subsequent extraction of these active ingredients, thus, becomes a fundamental for the purposes of obtaining therapeutic pharmaceutical, since a high-quality extraction makes it possible to extract the entire phytocomplex, leaving its properties unchanged, either without a trace of chemical residue in the extract, or completely removing them during the purification phase.
WHY INDOOR CULTIVATION?
To maintain a high standard for the finished product, it is necessary to start from a hemp plant that is completely free of any type of contamination. The Hemp plant, whether it is Indica or Sativa (or Cannabis), is considered a sponge, as it absorbs every substance present in the soil. Hemp, in fact, is one of the most effective plants with regard to phytoremediation, i.e., the ability that some plants have to purify soils, water, and air from pollutants and heavy metals such as lead, chromium, nickel, and others. These metals are then stored and stocked by the plant itself inside its leaves. It is easy, then, to understand that – if you extract a plant inside of which all these contaminations are found – they will be extracted together with the phytocomplex and will end up in the oil.
There are some certifications, above all GACP and Bio, which should ensure that hemp has been grown in a field free of heavy metals and that chemical pesticides have not been used; however, no matter how hard you try to maintain a low level of contaminants in outdoor cultivation (in open fields), you will never be certain of their total absence.
To obtain a real standard, then, the only truly effective method of cultivation is the indoor one, as it makes it possible to guarantee total absence of contaminants.
Another important advantage of indoor cultivation, compared to outdoor cultivation, is the standardization of the plant’s cultivation conditions. Nature itself is not standardized: in the same Hemp field one might find plants with different levels of cannabinoids, because climatic conditions can vary from one point to another of the same area. By cultivating the plant in a controlled environment, where it is possible to set all the fundamental parameters for its growth – such as light, temperature, humidity, and nutrients – and keep stable, the final product will be as standardized as possible.
Indoor hydroponic RDWC (Recirculating Deep Water Culture) cultivation, chosen for CANAXOIL™’s biomass is, therefore, of a higher quality, expressed both in terms of standardization, the absence from contamination and the high levels of cannabinoids, as well.
WHY SUPERCRITICAL CO2?
Supercritical fluids are renowned for their production of pure extracts and concentrates. The technology of supercritical fluids is called selective because it makes it possible to decide what to extract from the plant matrix by modulating temperature and pressure.
In the supercritical CO2 extraction process, liquid carbon dioxide is pressurized with a pump and heated inside a heat exchanger. This supercritical solvent flows through the extractor and floods the drum of hemp biomass. At the end of the process, the result will be a mixture of biomass extract and CO2. At this point the CO2 is evaporated and rerouted back into the machinery for subsequent extractions, while the hemp extract can be removed. The great advantage of this method is that – unlike in extractions carried out through chemical solvents, during which they will then have to be removed, not without difficulty, with a high chance of leaving traces –CO2 will evaporate, instead, and will be removed completely without leaving traces inside the extract.
This technology is increasingly being used in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and extracts industries for its reliability and the quality of obtained extracts.
The very high quality of supercritical CO2 extracts is, in fact, universally recognized to preserve all active ingredients inside the extract.
SUPERCRITICAL CO2 IN SATIVA L. HEMP
Supercritical CO2 generates a pure hemp extract and a hemp oil of the highest quality. CBD extracts can then be used for different purposes and applications.
In contrast with conventional chemical solvent extractions, hemp extract does not show any traces of contaminants or solvent residues. The extraction process needs fewer steps and is easier and faster. CBD extract is also high quality and offers high extraction yields.
CANAXOIL® is extracted with the knowledge brought by over 25 years of experience in supercritical CO2 extraction; this allows to extract and purify the best of the best from the phytocomplex.