Don’t Let Your CBD Processor Torch the Terps!
Have you ever wondered what makes fruits, flowers, and spices smell so pleasant? And what about a strain of hemp which has all the complexity of the bouquet of fine wine?
Terps! or more formally known as terpenes and terpenoids are responsible for the aromatics.
But these hydrocarbon molecules are more than just olfactory delights. Pinene, Limonene, Myrcene, Linalool, and Caryophyllene are just a few of the “terps” found in different concentrations in hemp chemovars that have been scientifically attributed to having anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, sleep-inducing, and mood-boosting therapeutic properties. Terps interact among one another, cannabinoids, and the other phytocompounds in the plant to give each hemp cultivar and its oil their unique medicinal benefit.
To safeguard these special compounds that are are highly sensitive to heat during hemp processing, processors must carefully control temperatures to avoid degrading or vaporizing the natural terpenes. Process controls, QA testing, experienced master extractors, SOPs and other protocols typical in the pharmaceutical and food manufacturing industries can ensure terpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols, and all the other plant compounds are consistently retained, batch to batch.
Accordingly, premier hemp processing companies are able to preserve the integrity of the entourage effect, i.e., the synergistic interplay of all the plant’s cannabinoids and phytonutrients. Quite literally, the “whole plant” is greater than the sum of the parts.
Precision Plant Molecules, a leading CBD and minor cannabinoids bulk ingredients manufacturer is led by a team of advanced-degreed scientists with both pharmaceutical industry and university research backgrounds representing over 50 years of analytical chemistry experience.
PPM utilizes in-house High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) testing at every production step assuring the terpenes and other plant attributes are not destroyed or compromised. You might want to confirm that your extraction and processing company follows a rigorous QA/QC program and ask them if they have in-house testing instrumentation and expertise.
Dr. Andrea Holmes
Precision Plant Molecules
Chief Growth Officer
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Dr. Holmes at [email protected].
Dr. Andrea Holmes – CGO
At PPM, Dr. Holmes infuses her passion for health and wellness with her professional ambition to advance the CBD industry and innovate in the field of cannabinoid science. Serving as CGO, Dr. Holmes drives the commercial development process with PPM customers who are focused on the introduction of novel formulations and incorporating emerging cannabinoids in their consumer products. Dr. Holmes received her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from New York University and was a NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University. She is a Professor of Chemistry at Doane University in Nebraska and holds appointments at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and its Medical Center.
