Broad Spectrum

Broad spectrum CBD has gotten a lot more popular recently — for several good reasons.  But what is broad spectrum CBD, exactly? Let’s take a closer look. 

What Is Broad Spectrum Hemp Oil?

A broad spectrum hemp oil contains almost all of hemp’s most active ingredients...with one exception: THC. 

These active ingredients include cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, CBC, and others), terpenes, flavonoids, chalcones, fatty acids, and more. It’s estimated that hemp contains over 300 beneficial plant compounds — and broad spectrum hemp oil contains many of them.

If you were to analyze mature hemp flower in the lab, for example, you’d see something like this: 

• Biomass 77%
• CBDa 18%
• Pinene: .6%
• Linalool: .3%
• THCa .3%
• CBGa .3% or less
• Ocimene: .3% or less

In addition to these top ingredients are hundreds of others, most of them present only in truly trace amounts. But even those are important — scientists have found they synergize to become greater than the sum of their parts. This unique phenomenon is called the entourage effect. 

And even though broad spectrum products don't contain any THC, they may still provide some degree of an entourage effect. Broad spectrum products may also be preferred by those who take frequent drug tests for work. 

How Is Broad Spectrum Hemp Made? 

Making broad spectrum hemp oil is a complex process. Techniques such as chromatography, fractional distillation, and/or CO₂ extraction may be used.  Because THC has a slightly different molecular weight than CBD, these methods are able to fully capture THC and separate it from other plant compounds. The result is a hemp oil that’s free of THC but still rich in other important compounds.