Hemp Oil vs CBD Oil vs Hemp extract! These terms might sound familiar and you might think these preparations have a similar composition with similar health benefits but that’s not quite right.

It is important that you understand the differences between these preparations as they have different compositions and different health benefits. This article will walk you through details like the methods of manufacturing of these preparations, the composition of each, and their respective health benefits.

Let’s get to it.

Hemp Oil - Everything You Need to Know

Hemp oil is also known as hemp seed oil as it derived from the seeds of the hemp plant. Following are the details of hemp oil and its health benefits.

How is It Made?

Hemp oil is not to be confused with the other forms of cannabis oils. It is made from the seeds of  Cannabis sativa. Following is the manufacturing detail of hemp oil. [1]

The hemp seeds are first thoroughly cleaned to remove contamination from other crops, dirt, chemicals, and other parts of the cannabis plant.

The seeds are then loaded into a hopper. This takes the seeds through a series of pressing machines. The pressing machines grind and apply pressure to the seeds and convert the seeds into hemp cake and separate oil from them.

The oil is then fed into a series of filters that separate any suspensions or impurities. Oxygen is removed from the oil during this process in order to increase the shelf life of the oil. The oil is then sent into reservoirs and it packed and sold.

The oil has a pleasant and nutty flavor but often leaves a bitter aftertaste.

What are the Constituents?

Hemp seed and hemp seed oil are extremely nutritious. There is a legend that Lord Buddha (the founder of Buddhism) survived for six years only eating hemp seeds. [1]

Hemp oil is different from the CBD oil as it does not contain any cannabinoids- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). It may contain a very small amount of THC (up to 0.2%) and CBD. These cannabinoids come when the seeds are contaminated with the flower material. [1]

As for the macronutrient content, the hemp seed oil is an extremely rich source of fatty acids with them making 25-35% of the total nutrient content. In addition, it contains 20-25% proteins, 10-15% fiber, and 20-30% sugar. It also contains a trace of minerals as well. [2]

As mentioned, hemp oil is extremely rich in fatty acids. Linoleic acid (LA) and a-linolenic acid (ALA) are the major omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in this oil respectively. In addition, it contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). It is the combination of these unsaturated fatty acids that makes hemp oil an excellent fatty acid source. [2]

Here is a breakdown of the macro components of hemp oil. [2][4]

What are the Health Benefits of Hemp Oil?

In addition to the macronutrients mentioned above, hemp oil is rich in a number of other antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulating compounds. Based on research, you can expect the following health benefits with the use of hemp oil: [3][4]

CBD Oil - Everything You Need to Know

Let’s discuss CBD oil now. It is made in an entirely different way, has got a different composition, and has got a wide range of health benefits. Here is the detail of CBD oil and its potential health benefits.

How is It Made?

Unlike the extraction method for hemp seeds, CBD oil is extracted from the whole plant. The parts of the plant used include stalks, leaves, and flowers. Here is a quick overview of the extraction process.

The plant parts used for extraction are first thoroughly cleaned to remove any impurities, chemicals, and dirt. The plant parts are then soaked in different types of solvents. The solvents can include fluid CO2 or ethanol.

The extraction process uses the basic principles of chemistry (flashback to high school chemistry!)- like dissolves like. Since ethanol and liquid CO2 are organic solvents, they extract all the organic materials from the plant. These include the unsaturated fatty acids and the cannabinoids.

The extract can then be concentrated to increase the concentration of the materials derived from the plant.

What are the Constituents of It?

Although CBD oil has got a long list of ingredients and each of these ingredients has its own set of health benefits. For the sake of keeping the things simple, we will only discuss the most active biological compounds found in CBD oil that are otherwise not found in the hemp oil.

As mentioned, hemp oil does not contain cannabinoids, that is, cannabidiol (CBD) and THC. CBD oil is different from hemp oil because it contains a higher dose of CBD. Still, you must keep the fact in mind that the CBD oil does not contain THC. THC is the chemical that gives the feeling of ‘being high’. [5]

So it is the higher dose of CBD that gives CBD oil most of its health effects. In addition, it is high in unsaturated fatty acids and other trace minerals and vitamins like hemp oil.

What are the Health Benefits of CBD Oil?

The human body contains a system that is responsive to the effects of CBD. It is called the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is basically a series of receptors. CBD oil exerts most of its health benefits through this series of receptors. Following are the proven health benefits of CBD oil. [6][9]

Hemp Extract - Is it Different From CBD Oil?

Hemp extract is more or less the same as CBD oil. Like CBD oil, hemp extract is derived by treating the plant parts with solvents like ethanol. You can think of hemp extract as the more crude form of CBD oil. It can be treated to achieve the desired concentration of CBD. The composition and health benefits of hemp extract are the same as CBD oil.

Conclusion

Here is a quick summary of our discussion about Hemp Oil vs CBD Oil vs Hemp extract. Hemp oil is mainly derived from the hemp seeds. It does not contain CBD or THC. Its health benefits are mainly due to its high fatty acid, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory contents. CBD oil and hemp extract are derived from plant parts like stalks, leaves, and flowers. These parts are treated with organic solvents to extract chemicals including CBD and other fatty acids. In contrast to hemp oil, most of the biological activities of CBD oil and hemp extract are due to their CBD content.

References

1. Citti C, et al. Analysis of cannabinoids in commercial hemp seed oil and decarboxylation kinetics studies of cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2018 Feb 5;149:532-540
2. Cary Leizer, et al. The Composition of Hemp Seed Oil and Its Potential as an Important Source of Nutrition. Journal of Nutraceuticals Functional & Medical Foods 2(4):35-53
3. Yuefang Zhou, et al. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed Phenylpropionamides Composition and Effects on Memory Dysfunction and Biomarkers of Neuroinflammation Induced by Lipopolysaccharide in Mice. ACS Omega. 2018 Nov 30; 3(11): 15988–15995.
4. Delfin Rodriguez-Leyva, et al. The cardiac and haemostatic effects of dietary hempseed. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2010; 7: 32.
5. Radmila Pavlovic, et al. Quality Traits of “Cannabidiol Oils”: Cannabinoids Content, Terpene Fingerprint and Oxidation Stability of European Commercially Available Preparations. Molecules. 2018 May; 23(5): 1230.
6. Natalya M. Kogan, et al. Cannabinoids in health and disease. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2007 Dec; 9(4): 413–430.
7. Kerstin Iffland, et al. An Update on Safety and Side Effects of Cannabidiol: A Review of Clinical Data and Relevant Animal Studies. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2017; 2(1): 139–154.
8. Joseph Maroon, et al. Review of the neurological benefits of phytocannabinoids. Surg Neurol Int. 2018; 9: 91.
9. Esther M. Blessing, et al. Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders. Neurotherapeutics. 2015 Oct; 12(4): 825–836.