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Extraction Process: Lipid Infusion for Quality CBD

Lipid infusion enables us to produce high-quality, whole-plant hemp extract that is minimally processed and efficient.

Using the Whole Plant

Lipid infusion is the best method for maintaining the integrity of the whole plant. Just as unprocessed whole foods have holistic nutritional benefits, whole hemp plants provide a similar value when compared to their isolated molecules. Hemp plants are rich in cannabinoids and terpenes, naturally occurring phytocompounds that we aim to preserve in our extraction (infusion) process.
Our process preserves the plant’s full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes in their natural ratios. Lipid infusion is an efficient and natural way to ensure that the full range of these naturally occurring compounds makes it into our finished products, thus supporting the theory that the “entourage effect” of combining the whole plant with all of its cannabinoids and other elements provides the best medicinal value.

Lipid Infusion vs. CO2 Extraction

CO2 is the most prevalently used process for extracting CBD, as the technology was already scaled for the marijuana industry. CO2 extraction is a multi-step process that uses compressed carbon dioxide to extract the cannabinoids and terpenes from hemp. Some CO2 processes break apart the plant’s different constituents, cannabinoids and terpenes, then reconstitute them. In most cases, this reconstituted extract is added to a lipid carrier oil.

Pura Vida Hemp uses organic coconut oil (a lipid) to do the infusion. Our dried organic hemp plants are soaked in organic coconut or MCT oil at the beginning of our infusion process, then heat and pressure are added to help extract all the plant’s compounds in their naturally occurring ratios. This creates a whole-plant coconut oil infusion that preserves the plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes in a simple, raw, distilled form that’s easy for the human body to absorb.

No harsh solvents are ever used. The plant’s cannabinoids and terpenes are never tampered with or altered, so the whole plant’s constituents are left intact.

Lipid Infusion vs. Solvent Extraction

Solvent extraction is another method for producing hemp concentrates. With solvent extraction, chemicals such as ethanol, butane or propane are pressurized and run through the plant material to strip it of cannabinoids, terpenes and other compounds. The resulting concentrate can then be infused into oil or be refined into an isolate powder.

Solvent extraction is generally more efficient and less expensive than CO2 extraction, but the chemicals used can potentially pull waxes from the plants and leave behind trace contaminants. Like CO2 extraction, it also requires substantial secondary processing to create a usable extract that’s ready to be formulated

Why We Believe That Lipid Infusion Produces The Best Medicinal Cannabis Extract

Lipid infusion uses organic fatty acids to absorb and encapsulate compounds, capturing and preserving the hemp plant’s qualities without requiring any alcohol, harsh solvents or CO2. Lipids have also been shown to promote absorption of cannabinoids that are taken orally, significantly increasing bioavailability.

The single-step process of lipid infusion allows us to create a full-spectrum, organic whole-plant extract that doesn’t require any additional manipulation to be instilled into a separate carrier oil. Instead, the essence of the entire plant is directly infused into the oil from the beginning.

Because lipid infusion encompasses multiple stages (extraction from the plant, infusion to carrier oil, decarboxylation) at the same time, it creates a versatile, organic, two-ingredient product that’s immediately ready to formulate.

"Cultivating Wellness, Sowing Pura Vida".

Discover the Power of Hemp with Pura Vida Botanical