What is CBD Bioavailability and Why Does it Matter?

What is CBD Bioavailability?

As you may have noticed, CBD is available in many various forms including: lotions, tinctures, oils, e-liquids, capsules and more. Each of these different forms requires a different usage method, and each product typically comes in multiple concentrations of CBD.

If you’ve never used CBD or are fairly new to the industry, all the different options can be very confusing.

You may want to try CBD, but which method should you use and how much CBD should you take? These are crucial questions that can all be addressed by understanding what bioavailability means.

In short, bioavailability is the degree and rate at which a substance that is absorbed into the bloodstream.

In addition to the amount and strength of a substance, bioavailability determines how much of what you took is actually present to provide your level of effect. For medications ordered by your doctor part of the calculation about the dosage has already included bioavailability when determining the standard dosage.

With that being said, the bioavailability of CBD varies based on the the consumption method and concentration of CBD in the product in question, which leads us to a very important question:

What’s the best way to take CBD?

Now, if you want to get the most bioavailability out of your CBD, the most direct route would be intravenous administration, meaning injected directly into the bloodstream through the veins.

While this method, by definition, delivers 100% of CBD into the body, it probably isn’t the most popular option.

For anyone who doesn’t prefer to stick themselves with a needle, let’s talk about the different methods of using CBD, and how each affects CBD bioavailability.

Oral Consumption

Most of us know how oral consumption works. Basically it means to consume something through your mouth. In terms of CBD, common oral consumption methods include CBD capsules, CBD edibles and CBD beverages.

While oral consumption methods do offer certain benefits, any substance consumed will have to pass through our metabolic and digestive systems, which will filter out a large portion of the CBD, drastically reducing its bioavailability.

A 1986 study reported a bioavailability rate of 6%, while a 2009 studyreported it between 4% and 20%. While both findings differ significantly, both are pretty low, with a 20% bioavailability rate being the most optimistic scenario.

To give you an idea on how that works, if you eat an edible that contains 100mg of CBD, only 20mg will actually reach your bloodstream.

Of course you need to accept that you’re going to lose a portion of the CBD to your digestive system, but over 75%? That’s worse than taxes!

Don’t worry though — there are other ways to increase your CBD bioavailability rate!

Sublingual Consumption

Under the tongue, there is a vein called the sublingual gland. When a substance is administered to the sublingual gland, it gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream, which is referred to as sublingual consumption or sublingual administration. Common sublingual consumption methods include CBD tinctures, CBD lozenges and CBD sprays.

Because sublingual consumption is more direct, it impacts the body quicker than oral consumption and maintains higher availability, only being degraded from enzymes in the mouths saliva.

Because there are a few different factors that will impact the CBD bioavailability of sublingual consumption (most involving the quality of CBD), reported rates range from 12%-35%, which is still significantly higher than oral consumption.