Here at SIMHA, we are focused on the creation of products that utilise, preserve and enhance the unique medicinal properties of the hemp plant. CBD oil for anxiety & stress are some of the most popular use cases for CBD oil UK. It is important to know the source of your CBD, where your CBD comes from, and how your CBD is grown and produced.
We have created an Ultra Premium CBD oil, that is unrivalled in its quality as a full-spectrum medicinal hemp extract. With every stage of production – from seed to oil – under our control in a GMP certified lab, we can ensure the highest quality final product every time.
We use the hemp from the Simha farm, an organic permaculture farm in Tuscany, Italy. The plant material is carefully selected in the field and then transferred to the controlled environment of our headquarters in Siena: the Toscana Life Sciences Foundation. In our laboratories, inside the Medicinal Research Center, the hemp is processed according to the highest quality standards. Grown and produced in Italy
We work in collaboration with SICAM (Italian Medical Hemp Society) for training, research and development. Each product is formulated with and approved by, a specialist board of doctors, pharmacists, agronomists and researchers. Our laboratories are based at the Toscana Life Sciences Foundation, one of Italy’s major scientific research centres. The Medicinal Research Centre is equipped with the most advanced technology currently available for research and development in this field. Temperature, air and pressure levels are controlled by a central system and products are protected from contamination by being transported only through specially designed protective passages.
Extraction Process
Our extraction process remains as close to its artisan roots as possible utilising ancient ayurvedic techniques and formulations, whilst using modern equipment in a sterile, contaminant-free working environment. Our goal is the creation of a product that contains the full range of constituent phytochemicals and is naturally rich in Cannabidiol (CBD). Variations in the chemical expression found within individual phenotypes are welcomed as this creates a true full spectrum as you would in nature.
The process itself is done in several steps, with the most important parts being the sieving of the plant matter and the pressing of the collected material. Here, inspiration comes from both science and tradition. The cold sieving is done in a low-temperature setting (around 2C / 35.6F) to ensure efficiency and reduce the possibility of contamination.
The cold-pressing process ensures that the integrity of the full range of plant chemicals (phytochemicals) is retained. This is an ancient ayurvedic technique used for thousands of years which we have now been able to replicate with pharmaceutical-grade technology and equipment. The Simha technique of cold pressing retains the natural ratio of plant’s cannabinoids in the final product, which is one of our primary objectives.
The quality of an extract is a direct reflection of the standard of the extraction process. Existing extraction methods using hydrocarbons such as butane, ethanol, or C02 have drawbacks. Alcohol strips the cannabinoids from the plant and changes the structure of the compounds. This is why by using Simha Cold pressed CBD oil, you actually need less than most brands as we keep the structure of the cannabinoids intact. Our extraction method means our oil has higher bioavailability, a beautiful natural taste and the therapeutic effects of natural terpenes that can have a positive effect on many ailments.
The quality of an extract is a direct reflection of the standard of the extraction process. Existing extraction methods using hydrocarbons such as butane, ethanol or C02 all have their drawbacks. Cold pressing maintains the balance expressed by the plant completely unchanged during the maturation or tanning phase.
Terpenes and waxes are the compounds that most define the quality of an extract. Terpenes and terpenoids are components of essential oils, which form one of the largest groups of biomolecules in the plant. They are primarily responsible for the odour, flavour and aroma. The terpene profile (which generally constitutes from 0.5 – 2% w / w of the trichome) is unique for each different cultivar. It develops according to the conditions of cultivation and how the genotype expresses itself according to the specific environmental pressures undergone.
Cannabis wax can be characterized by two groups of lipid substances: insoluble cutins and epicuticular waxes. Depending on the extraction method used, variable quantities of these compounds end up in the product. The waxes increase the viscosity of the extract making it less clear and palatable. Therefore they are seen as impurities to be removed according to a higher quality. When extracting with a rosin press, the walls of the trichomes and the waxes remain in the press cake, separated from the resin. CO2 or butane are examples of extractions that in most cases require significant safety measures and prolonged purge times before consumption. Maintaining the natural ratio between the plant’s cannabinoids in the final product is one of our primary objectives. For this reason, we produce a 3.2% CBD oil, selecting plants with a dominant Cannabidiol ratio in the field to keep within the limits of the law and respect the golden ratio.
The search for fractality and its preservation during the process is one of the most complex and fascinating challenges we are facing. Those more or less simple structures, fractals, repeated countless times equal to themselves and constitute the framework of life itself. Perfect proportions in microscopic and macroscopic structures at the same time. The fractality index is an indicator that can be used for superior quality control. Basically, it goes to research how much our product is aligned with the natural organization of things.
FULL SPECTRUM VS ISOLATES
Extracts containing purified CBD, or in which the balance between molecules has been altered in the laboratory, are not only less efficient and tolerable but most of the time they are also less palatable.
The systematic comparison between the most recent studies highlights what has been said. For example, a recent review reports 11 studies conducted on different epileptic patients between States (9/11), Mexico (1/11) and Israel (1/11). The majority of the population examined consisted of children and adolescents between 1 and 18 years of age suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy (refractory epilepsy) who attempted between 4 and 12 different treatments for 3 years before trying CBD-based products.
The results suggest that CBD products can significantly reduce the frequency of attacks, even for this population of subjects refractory to normal treatments. From the analysis of the “reported improvements” (which means any improvement among all the different studies) at least 2/3 of the patients experienced an observable reduction in the frequency of attacks (399/622, 64%), with a rating for individuals studies between 37 and 89%. Emblematically 6 of the 11 studies considered have marked more than 80% of patients with improvements. However, what interests us most is that there have been more improvements reported after the use of CBD-rich extracts (71%) than after taking preparations with purified CBD (46%) with significant statistical significance (p<0.0001). When passing from the analysis of any improvement felt to the search for a reduction of at least 50% in the frequency of attacks, the difference between treatment with extracts rich in CBD or isolates is no longer so evident, but a significant figure remains. The average daily dose adopted by patients to achieve the desired results is much lower in the case of CBD-rich extracts. The mean reported for purified CBD was 25.3 mg / kg / day, while the mean daily dose for CBD-rich was just 6.0 mg / kg / day. Patients treated with CBD-rich also showed improvements in secondary aspects of health, such as sleep quality, mood, motor skills, behaviour and aggression. These elements should not be underestimated as they contribute greatly to the quality of life. No cases of this type have been reported with purified CBD although it cannot be excluded that they exist; in a study of 117 patients, for example, there were side effects, albeit to a lesser extent.
All this to show evidence in a more specific way and regarding particular problems. But there are countless cases where low-dose CBD has proven more effective and less prone to cause adverse effects. In many cases CBD has biphasic effects and, especially if isolated, at high concentrations it can cause more side effects than anything else, such as suppressing the vomiting reflex. Low dosages show some effectiveness, but at high concentrations, the condition can also worsen.
One of the biggest limitations to scientific research and to the real understanding of cannabis is the need for today’s medicine and experimentation to use single molecules in search of certain effects. among the most emblematic characteristics of cannabis, however, there is the entourage effect: the ability of the molecules that make up its Phyto complex, to enter into a synergistic relationship with each other, mutually modulating the effects on the human system.
This does not only occur between cannabinoids such as CBD and THC (the very close relationship of which has been widely analyzed and has led the prescriber to increasingly opt, if possible, for genetics with a THC / CBD ratio of 1 to 1.) and with their acid forms, but also with other molecules such as terpenes. Cannabis is not simply a vehicle for THC and CBD, but something extremely more complex and similar to the endocannabinoid system, with a whole set of combinations between active and passive synergists. “This type of synergy – says Raphael Mechoulam – can play a role in the widely diffused vision (but not based on experimentation) that in some cases plants can be better drugs than the natural products they isolate”. Support for these theories derives from numerous studies in which cannabis extracts have shown to have effects two or four times greater than pure THC; in which the existence of THC antagonists and synergists is underlined, or effects are observed for which THC, even if active, may not be necessary, as for the anticonvulsant properties of cannabis. For example, it has been seen that THC and CBD extracts modulate the effects on hippocampal neurons differently compared to individual compounds in purity.
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