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 ordinary (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 wide variety of purposes: seeds, leaves, flowers and fibres.

The fibers are used in the manufacture of paper, cosmetics and clothing. Hemp is also used as a light and hard-wearing material: e.g. as a component of dressing material, for the production of ropes and sails.

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

Since there are often misunderstandings when it comes to hemp products, it should be explained at this point that a fundamental distinction must be made between the so-called "useful hemp" varieties and hemp as a medicinal product 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 may not exceed 0.2% if a plant is to be classified as industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is mainly of the “Cannabis sativa” variety.

Benefit and mode of action

What is special about hemp oil is the high proportion of healthy, unsaturated fatty acids, which is around 70%. This also includes 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 must therefore obtain them from food. They are particularly important for normal heart and brain function and for energy and oxygen balance. While omega-6 fatty acids are also found in numerous vegetable oils, omega-3 is a so-called "marine fatty acid" that is found primarily in oily cold-water fish such as salmon. For vegans and vegetarians, hemp seed oil is a good alternative to still be able to absorb the valuable omega-3 fatty acids.

Also important vitamins, minerals and trace elements are 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 attributed in particular to alpha-linolenic acid.

An in vitro study published in 2016 on the antioxidant effect of hemp seed oil postulates that 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 determine the polyphenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity of cold-pressed seed oil from the industrial hemp variety Finola (Cannabis sativa L.) Different methods were used to assess the in vitro antioxidant activity of finola hemp seed oil (FHSO). From the results, it is clear that FHSO has high antioxidant activity as measured by DPPH radical (146.76mmol TE/100g oil), inhibited β-carotene bleaching, quenched 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 depend on the phenolic compounds in general, particularly 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 the consumer from allegedly misleading claims. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This knowledge, which has been handed down for thousands of years, is based on experiences that are passed on from generation to generation. It should not be claimed that the products described here have any effect in the sense of western medicine. All products are dietary supplements; they are not medicines and have no medicinal effect. If you are ill and require medical attention, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.

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