WHAT’S THE PEEL
WITH ORANGE CBD?
Did you know you can get CBD from oranges? Nope, neither did we.
While the idea of lab-made CBD may not be ‘a-peel-ling’ to
everyone, we ask if this THC-free synthetic CBD could be the real deal.
Words by Caroline Barry
As the CBD boom
continues, companies are
striving to f ind the next
big thing. Citroso f rom
Japan brought citrus CBD
drops to the attention of
the canna-curious at the
recent USA CBD Expo
in Las Vegas, causing us
to raise the question: is
this an alternative form
of an already alternative
medicine?
Citrus CBD, established in 2018,
offers products that are completely
hemp-free and instead are made from
orange peel.
CBD is apparently highly concentrated
in oranges making up 97% of the
rind’s essential oils. George Wolters of
Citrus CBD explains where this niche
within a niche fi ts.
“Limonene, which is a chemical in
orange peel, is very similar to the
CBD molecule. In the laboratory
with the process of heat, time and
pressure, they can get a bioidentical.
I’ve been making products using this
material and basically found that its
pharmaceutically pure, so you get a
clean product without contaminants.”
Limonene is an organic compound
known as a terpene. We already
knew cannabis plants possess various
terpenes that have many health
benefi ts. Limonene is also found in
94
cloves, lemon and oregano and it
has many different uses in medicine,
cleaning products and now CBD
products.
“We have a lot of customers who
take drug tests for their work as law
enforcers, teachers or the military.
They can use CBD without ever having
a concern about failing a drug test.
Patients want the same outcome, if
something works then they want to
know it is going to work again.”
Scientists have been able to create
100% CBD molecules from limonene
in a lab. While the idea of completely
lab-grown CBD might worry those
who prefer the natural route, it
does hold an advantage in that it is
completely pesticide-free.
Cannabis plants are bio-accumulators
that soak up anything that has contact
with their roots which could mean
pesticides that have been stored in the
soil. Limonene has the natural ability
to ward off pests so it doesn’t need to
be treated.
“Our products come down to limonene
which is the smell in lemons and other
fruits. They use Valencia oranges from
Brazil because it produces the most
oranges. It’s a consistent supply chain.
We are making CBD from something
that would ordinarily be thrown away.”
Like CBD, this terpene is thought to
be anti-infl ammatory, antioxidant,
anti-stress and have disease
prevention properties. Studies in
women with breast cancer showed a
22% decrease in breast cancer tumour
expression, with two-gram daily intake
of limonene over six weeks. As farmers
rush to plant hemp-reducing crop
varieties, planting different types of
CBD-producing products could help
to avoid a price crash. The green rush
has seen a 445% increase in hemp
acreage in 2019 alone contributing
to soil erosion and environmental
degradation.
George sees the future of orange
CBD going even further. “I see other
cannabinoids being synthesised from
things like orange peel. We would
develop a spectrum of cannabinoids
that are readily available and
synthesised to a high quality, but I
think we are a few years away from
that,” George adds.