Benefits of Sesame Oil Infusions
by Dr. Michael Moskowitz, MD, MPH
of Bay Area Pain Medical Associates, San Rafael, California
In 2016 an international group of authors published in the American Journal of Translational Research examined the relationship of dietary fat intake, in particular sesame oil and the absorption and distribution of CBD isolates. The authors demonstrated a 3.0 fold increased absorption into the bloodstream. They were surprised, however, when the research animals showed a massive anti-inflammatory response, well beyond what would have been expected from these increases.1 Below is the schematic made by the authors showing increased absorption into capillaries with first pass metabolism (breakdown of cannabinoids) occurring at the liver, before going into systemic circulation. At the same time, emulsification of fat soluble cannabinoids in the sesame oil prepared CBD showed increased intestinal absorption directly into the lymphatic system, without first pass metabolism.
In fact the authors determined that this way of administering cannabinoids had its largest absorption and effect from the route into the lymphatics, not the systemic circulation. This same group of authors followed up this study in 2017 with another in Scientific Reports, where they looked at selective absorption of CBD into the lymphatic system. They noted CBD absorbed 250 times higher concentration into the lymphatics than into the bloodstream.2 As the diagram from their first article shows, this lymphatic absorption bypasses first past degradation by the liver that occurs in the bloodstream.
What is apparent, clinically, in my practice, is that using sesame oil with medical cannabis causes a faster and longer lasting response to CBD. This is quite different than without sesame oil. Anxiety, mood, pain, inflammation, cancer, blood sugar, cholesterol, degenerative neurological symptoms and weight loss are all improved with CBD dominant strains taken orally. In the second study cited above, the authors noted that when they put sesame oil and CBD in culture with lymphocytes from people with active Multiple Sclerosis, the inflammation of the lymphocytes was wiped out quickly.
I would recommend for patients to use CBD with sesame oil; either use CBD infusions made with sesame oil or chase the preparations of CBD in oil, alcohol, gummies, cookies, candies, etc. with a dropper of sesame oil. I have been working with the staff at Healing Essence CBD to help them formulate new infusions with sesame oil. These approaches provide treatment that contains not only CBD, but the other medically active cannabinoids, as well, including. The acid forms of cannabinoids (CBDa) work selectively on a receptor family that is known for fighting pain, inflammation, neurodegeneration and neuroregeneration.
_________________
1Zgair A, et al, Dietary fats and pharmaceutical lipid excipients increase systemic exposure to orally administered cannabis and cannabis-based medicines, American Journal of Translational Research, 2016;8(8):3448-3459.
2Zgair A, et al, Oral administration of cannabis with lipids leads to high levels of cannabinoids in the intestinal lymphatic system and prominent immunomodulation, Scientific Reports, 2017; 7: 14542, pp 1-23.