Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
Introduction
1. OPENING STATEMENT
3. UNDERSTANDING DRINKING VS TRACE QUANTITIES
2. METABOLISM OF SOLVENTS
www.CannabisHomeSciences.com © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Cannabis Home Sciences presented this slide show in January 2024. Here is a reduced version just focused on the metabolism of solvents for Gray Wolf’s Lair.
8. CONCLUSION
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
1. Opening Statement
The World Health Organization says there is “No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health”
Consumers ignore the significance of ethanol’s chemistry and the long term effects. Today, we will -
◉ See Alcohol for what it is - a solvent
◉ Learn each solvent’s Metabolic Pathways through the
liver & kidneys
◉ See the difference between drinkable quantities and
residual traces through illustrated numbers
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
2. METABOLISM OF SOLVENTS
The liver metabolizes approximately 8g (+-2g) of ethanol per hour.
One ounce of 80 proof vodka has approximately 9g of Ethanol.
Ethanol Acetaldehyde
-> ->
CH3-CH2-OH CHO-CH3
Ethanol metabolizes into Acetaldehyde.
Acetaldehyde is both genotoxic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic, with Long term exposure
leading to Alcoholic Liver Disease, Cirrhosis of the liver, Cancer, Birth defects and more
Ethyl Acetate metabolizes into Ethanol thus shares this metabolic pathway.
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
2. METABOLISM OF SOLVENTS
Acetone, a ketone, is not broken down as it’s bio-friendly as-is, up to PDE levels.
Isopropyl metabolizes into Acetone thus shares Acetone’s metabolic pathway.
Isopropyl Acetone
-> ->
CH3-CHOH-CH3 CH3-2CO-CH3
Acetone is neither genotoxic, carcinogenic, or teratogenic. The Liver produces Acetone
ketones when breaking down fats. Acetone is used as an energy source during a low
carb state. Diabetic state of Ketosis has elevated acetone levels in the breath. Service
Dogs for diabetics trigger low sugar level alerts by smelling acetone.
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
3. UNDERSTANDING DRINKING VS TRACE QUANTITIES
*1 Partial GRAS rating for use in food
*2 FDA has published Acetone’s PDE to be higher than Ethanol’s PDE
*3 LD50 is an approximation based on rat studies and varies across Safety Data Sheets. 105lbs is 47.62kg
*4 Permanent visual damage may occur with minimum ingestion of 30 mL of methanol
Solvent Chemical Properties as Liquid
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
3. UNDERSTANDING DRINKING VS TRACE QUANTITIES
How much is too much? The Solvent’s LD50 for a 105 lbs person
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
3. UNDERSTANDING DRINKING VS TRACE QUANTITIES
A: FDA allows 0.5% so 10mg * 0.5 = 0.05mg
A gummy weighing 4 grams..
has 10mg THC/CBD..
..with 0.5% solvent, which is 0.05ug
Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) amount for a 105 lbs person in grams scaled to show micrograms.
Residual Solvent in 10mg = 50ug = 0.000.050ug
Acetone:........210.0 mg/kg/day = 9.996.000ug
Ethanol:........166.7 mg/kg/day = 7.901.000ug
Isopropyl:......138.0 mg/kg/day = 6.568.000ug
Ethyl Acetate:..117.0 mg/kg/day = 5.569.000ug
Heavier persons will have higher PDEs
The 10mg may safely contain up to 0.5% (0.05mg) residual solvent. This is well within the FDA’s PDE for all four solvents.
Q: How much solvent is in a 10mg gummy?
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
3. UNDERSTANDING DRINKING VS TRACE QUANTITIES
Ethanol’s Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) limit for a 105 lbs person is 7.9g over 24 hours.
Ethanol PDE:...166.7 mg/kg/day = 7,901,000 ug
/ 24
Milligrams per hour = 329,208 ug
Residual solvent amount / 50 ug
=============
Gummies to be eaten every hour: 6,584
Q: How many 10mg gummies does it take
To reach the PDE’s 24hr limit?
A: 6,584 10mg gummies per Hour x 24 hrs!
(equivalent to 65 grams of Cannabis oil)
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
8. CONCLUSION
Here we’ve looked at four different solvents commonly found in the home. From a chemistry and biological perspective, these four represent the safest solvents that can be used without requiring special training or lab gear. This data reflects the current knowledge of the world medical community and might change in the future. A lot of the in-vivo solvent testing was on lab animals then extrapolated to human scale. These numbers may change with additional research.
On the consumer side, due to lack of in-depth understanding of chemistry, consumers believe that ethanol is the safest because it can be ingested. This seemingly logical conclusion permits users to disregard the dangers of long term exposures leading to cirrhosis of the liver, birth defects and DNA damage.
As shown in this discussion, the most feared solvents, acetone and isopropyl, viewed as poison at any level, are actually the least biologically harmful to the human body down at the trace level. By understanding these solvents at the molecular level and following through the metabolic pathways, the picture becomes clear. The most bio-friendly solvent is Acetone, being the least toxic of all 4 solvents at trace levels.
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
8. CONCLUSION
This fact is supported by the FDA establishing higher Permitted Daily Exposures for Acetone versus Ethanol. This is significant because the definition of PDE draws a line in the sand between harmless and harmful levels.
For virtually the entire world, the debate on Ethanol vs Isopropyl safety is actually a mute point because residual traces of these FDA Class 3 solvents are low enough to be safely metabolized by healthy liver and kidneys. When in compliance with regulations, residual solvents in edibles has been shown to be orders of magnitude under the FDA Permitted Daily limits.
Bringing it home:
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
8. CONCLUSION
In closing, when permitted by local laws, medical patients at home have good, safe, options for solvent selection. Some Chemical-Intolerant health issues might preclude certain solvents based individual sensitivities. Those suffering from impaired liver or kidney function may now choose which solvent best fit their chemical sensitivity. This premise needs to be discussed with medical professionals experts in the field of Toxicology.
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
Definitions
Glossary of Definitions Given by Many Gov’t Agencies (EPA,FDA,CDC,etc)
PDE Permitted Daily Exposure values are calculated based on NOAEL & LOAEL
NOAEL / LOAEL physical measurements - For in-vivo Bioanalytical chemistry measurements
NOAEL No Observable Adverse Effects Level - Limit of detectability. Undetectable below this level
LOAEL Lowest Observable Adverse Effects Level -
The highest dose level that does not produce a significant increase in adverse effects
LOD / LOQ theoretical measurements - For in-vitro Analytical Chemistry modeling - Theoretical LOAEL/NOAEL
LOD Limit of Detection noise floor - Less reliable. Can't always be measured
LOQ Limit of Quantification - More reliable. Consistently measurable
LD50 Lethal Dose for 50% of those affected
Cannabis Extraction Solvent Safety – An Evidence Based Review
Definitions
www.CannabisHomeSciences.com © 2024 All Rights Reserved