Origin

Hemp belongs to the hemp family (Cannabaceae) and is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. It originally comes from Central Asia and has been spread worldwide by humans over the years. A distinction is made between the common (Cannabis sativa L.) and Indian hemp (Cannabis indica Lam.) Hemp is a very versatile renewable raw material. Almost all parts of the plant are used for a variety of purposes: seeds, leaves, flowers and fibers.

The fibers are used in paper, cosmetics and clothing production. Hemp is also used as a light and durable material: e.g. as part of bandages, for the production of ropes and sails.

While leaves and flowers are used as stimulants, hemp seeds have been very popular as food for many centuries due to their high content of high-quality protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The seeds contain approx. 22-25% proteins, 35-37% carbohydrates and 30-35% fat; also has a high proportion of fiber, vitamins and minerals. When producing hemp seed oil, the hemp seeds contained in the shelled hemp nuts are cold pressed at around 40-60° C. At higher temperatures (“hot pressing”), some of the valuable ingredients would be destroyed.

Since misunderstandings often arise when it comes to hemp products, it should be explained at this point that a fundamental distinction must be made between the so-called “industrial hemp” varieties and hemp as a medicinal and intoxicant. Whether a hemp plant falls under the Narcotics Act depends primarily on the THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabiol) content, which is the psychoactive substance in hemp and can be a maximum of 0.2% if a plant is to be classified as industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is mainlya about the variety “Cannabis sativa”.

Benefits and mode of action

The special thing about hemp oil is the high proportion of healthy, unsaturated fatty acids, which is approx. is 70%. These also include the nutritionally valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids such as: alpha-linolenic acid (an omega 3 fatty acid), linoleic acid (an omega 6 fatty acid), palmitic and stearic acid and omega-3 fatty acid. The body cannot produce these fatty acids, the so-called “essential fats”, and therefore must absorb them through food. They are particularly important for normal heart and brain function as well as for energy and oxygen balance. While omega-6 fatty acids are also contained in numerous vegetable oils, omega-3 is a so-called “marine fatty acid”, which v.a in fatty cold water fish such as occurs in salmon. Hemp seed oil is a good alternative for vegans and vegetarians to still be able to absorb the valuable omega-3 fatty acids.

important vitamins, minerals and trace elements are also other components of hemp seed oil. These include in particular vitamin E, B1 and B2, the minerals phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium, as well as the trace elements iron, manganese, zinc and small amounts of copper. The ingredients of hemp seed oil have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which are particularly attributed to alpha-linolenic acid.

An in vitro study published in 2016 on the antioxidant effects of hemp seed oil postulates that v.a The polyphenols it contains could be responsible for the strong antioxidant properties. The abstract of the study states:

“The aim of this study was to investigate the polyphenol compounds and the antioxidant activity of cold-pressed seed oil from the industrial hemp variety Finola (Cannabis sativa L.) to characterize. Various methods were used to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of Finola hemp seed oil (FHSO). From the results, FHSO has high antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH radical (146.76 mmol TE/100 g oil), inhibited β-carotene bleaching, quenched a chemically generated peroxyl radical in vitro, and high chelating activity of iron ions showed. FHSO contains a significant amount of phenolic compounds, of which 2780.4 mg quercetin equivalent / 100 g total flavonoids. Our results suggest that the significant antioxidant properties of finola seed oil may generally depend on the phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids such as flavanones, flavonols, flavanols and isoflavones.“ Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.5623

Legal consumer information

German and European case law wants to protect consumers from supposedly misleading claims about effectiveness. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This ancient knowledge, which is thousands of years old, is based on experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. It is not intended to claim that the products described here have an effect in the sense of western medicine. All products are nutritional supplements; they are not medications and have no medical effect. If you are sick and need medical care, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.