40 percent more potent CBD? Holista files patent for absorption-boosting technology

12 Dec 2019 --- Biotech company Holista CollTech has filed a patent for its platform technology touted for delivering fat-soluble nutraceuticals that can also be applied to the cannabidiol (CBD) industry. The technology can make oils roughly 40 percent more potent by boosting their absorption, says the company. It can be applied to most fat-soluble medications and foods, including curcumin and vitamin D. Furthermore, it holds taste-masking abilities that make for more flavor neutral formulations in food and pharma. Commercialization by licensing will begin in North America in 2020.

Amid gray regulations and consumer confusion, the CBD space continues its upward motion. Recently, it was reported that CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, will gain Novel Food status in Germany, but as of yet, nothing has been officially disclosed from the country’s policy bodies. Innova Market Insights has also featured CBD as a trend to look out for, part of its top trends of 2020 list entry “A Star is Born.” The ingredient is “starring” across food and beverage applications, making it one of the most trending in the industry.   

“Most medicine consumed orally is wasted due to its poor absorption by the body. This is especially true for CBD, which is also expensive. More importantly, the integrity of the final molecule is preserved exactly as it is found in nature and hence, there is no apparent need for any lengthy approvals process anywhere in the world. We only use materials certified as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS),” says Dr. Roscoe Moore Jr, Project Leader and Head of Holista’s Technical Advisory Panel.

The commercial benefits of the new technology for CBD producers include making their CBD formulation up to 40 times more potent.“There is growing consensus in the medical community that CBD can be used to improve patient outcomes for conditions such as seizures, inflammation, pain, psychosis or mental disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, nausea, migraines, depression and anxiety,” notes Dr. Rajen Manicka, CEO of Holista.

Increased absorption, reduced dosages
The commercial benefits of the new technology for CBD producers include making their CBD formulation up to 40 times more potent, the company says. This allows significantly reduced dosages, as well as making a product palatable for the young and elderly.

Fat-soluble molecules have poor bioavailability as they do not dissolve well and reach the bloodstream. As such, a higher dosage needs to be ingested. This is both wasteful and costly, Holista says. The platform technology will particularly benefit the CBD oil industry where the active material is scarce, costly and poorly water-soluble.

CBD oil has an earthy, musky and lingering bitter taste due to the high concentration of organic compounds that make it unpalatable. This makes formulating CBD for oral consumption difficult. The taste-masking technology linked to this patented formulation used GRAS botanicals to allow wider applications in pharmaceutical and food with oral dosing.

“Holista drew from parallel work done on the turmeric molecule which is also very fat-soluble” notes Dr. Swanand Malode, Europe and Asia Team Leader of the group that worked on this technology for over five years.

Holista is focused on fat-soluble substances such as CBD, curcumin and Vitamin D, targeting initially the food and nutraceutical markets in Australia and North America. It also researches, develops, manufactures and markets “health-style” products to address the evolving needs of natural medicine. Its suite of ingredients, among other things, includes low-GI baked products, reduced-sodium salts, low-fat fried foods and low calories sugar without compromising taste, odor and mouthfeel. 

The patent was registered in the US and filed for global coverage. Holista has instructed its patenting firm to secure all global strategic markets. With the patent filing completed, Holista has started negotiations with companies involved in CBD processing in North America and expect these negotiations to complete in 2020.

Edited by Kristiana Lalou