Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ Overcomes Key Hurdles for Cannabis Extracts

Cannabis oils and extracts have become tremendously popular following the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis across a growing number of jurisdictions. In addition to avoiding the health risks of smoking, cannabis oils and extracts enable patients and consumers to access precise dosing across a wide range of delivery systems (e.g. capsules, vape oil, or edibles) for a consistent experience every time.

Lexaria Bioscience Inc. (OTCQX: LXRP) addresses these shortcomings with its DehydraTECH™ drug delivery platform. By combining cannabinoids with fatty acid oil, applying food carrier particles, and performing a dehydration procedure, the technology masks the bitter and earthy taste of cannabis oil and ensures quick and effective transportation into the bloodstream without degradation in the stomach or liver. Lexaria’s technology now has over 40 patents pending and four patents already granted in the US.

Masking Poor Taste

The taste of cannabis oils and extracts depends on the process used to extract the cannabinoids from the plant but it’s generally described as earthy and bitter. In fact, new patients and consumers commonly ask how they can mask the taste of the drug. Many people recommend taking cannabis oils and extracts with breath mints or other products, but the process can be inconvenient at best and ineffective at worst.

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ technology masks the earthy and bitter flavors of cannabis oils and extracts using fatty acids. These fatty acids are believed to block and shunt bound ingredients away from bitter taste receptors, which eliminates the bad taste in products that incorporate the technology. Non-active ingredients can then be added to re-flavor the cannabis oils and extracts to make them more palatable for patients and consumers.

For example, Nuka Enterprises LLC signed a licensing agreement earlier this year for its cannabis-infused line of chocolates and edible products. The company had already been utilizing Lexaria’s technology in its award-winning 1906 brand of chocolates for about two years to mask cannabis flavors and ensure a great taste — along with the many other benefits of Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ platform.

Improving Bioavailability

Cannabinoids have poor bioavailability for a couple different reasons: Orally-consumed cannabinoids are largely destroyed by stomach acids, and those that aren’t are broken down and altered by first pass metabolism in the liver. This is why smoking cannabis has a much more immediate effect than orally-consumed cannabis; it avoids first-pass metabolism and is more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs.

Lexaria’s DehydraTECH™ technology protects orally-consumed cannabinoids during the stomach transit by co-joining them with lipids. At the same time, the long-chain fatty acids bypass first pass liver metabolism by design, enabling the cannabinoids to remain intact upon delivery to the bloodstream. These two features help increase the bioavailability of cannabinoids and ultimately make them more effective for medical cannabis patients or recreational users, and also allow the edible experience to more closely mimic the smoked experience, for the first time ever.

Management has found that DehydraTECH™ reduces the onset time for cannabis oils and extracts to just 15 to 20 minutes compared to 60 to 120 minutes for traditional oral cannabinoids. At the same time, bio absorption improves by five to 10 times to match that of inhaled cannabinoid delivery mechanisms. These attributes make the technology ideal for medical uses cases where precise dosing and immediate onset are critical.

Lexaria’s technology has been repeatedly evaluated by invivo, invitro and human studies and is currently undergoing additional evaluation by Canada’s National Research Council.

Looking Ahead

Lexaria Bioscience Inc. (OTCQX: LXRP) represents a compelling investment opportunity in the cannabis industry and beyond. With its innovative DehydraTECH™ platform, the company solves many of the key shortcomings of oral cannabinoids and makes cannabinoid products for both medical and recreational consumers a lot more palatable and effective.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.lexariabioscience.com.

Disclaimer

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About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.