Australian medicinal cannabis developer, Bod Science, has developed a game-changing technology to make water hating (lipophilic) compounds water soluble. The patented powder, Aqua Phase, is a flavourless, colourless, and stable agnostic product, meaning it has wide application outside of its original CBD remit, including in food and beverage manufacturing.
Aqua Phase was originally created to enhance Bod Science’s medicinal cannabis products, but because it can be produced as a powder, it can be used by food and beverage companies using functional ingredients to rapidly increase absorption and effect.
Bod Science CEO Jo Patterson told Food & Drink Business, “With Aqua Phase, we have a significant opportunity to reshape food and beverage markets across the globe,” continued Patterson. “In its powder format, we can add lipophilic compounds like CBD to sports drinks and even go a step further in adding them to oral products and topical creams in the burgeoning nutraceutical industry.
“Aqua Phase is a product formulation technology, which takes a modified starch already commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry. It’s not a new ingredient that needs approval. What we’ve done is change the manufacturing process to create a bioavailable complex. This patented process of combining an active drug or ingredient with a starch is Aqua Phase and can be used with many different chemicals and nutrients,” Patterson said.
Bod Science will sell it as a bulk powder with whatever compound the customer is using. It can then added into the existing manufacturing process.
Bod’s second pharmacokinetic study on Aqua Phase proved its ability to deliver six times the bioavailability compared to CBD in oil and at triple the maximum concentration levels. It also showed it was faster acting, reaching its maximum concentration in 2.5 hours as opposed to the standard six hours for CBD in oil.
“The findings show how Aqua Phase significantly increases absorption, which makes the primary ingredient much faster acting. If you think of people using CBD for pain relief, that time difference is a major benefit,” Patterson said.
Globally, Patterson said the use of CBD is a regulatory jigsaw, and the company works within the parameters of each country. While in the US and Canada it is permissible as a food, the UK treats it as a novel food, and Australia classifies it as a Schedule 4 prescription only medication.
“In the US, one of the big CBD companies sponsors baseball, and there is a really interesting dialogue happening about the role CBD can have as an anti-inflammatory and as a recovery drink. What they haven’t been able to solve is how to add CBD without it changing the integrity of the product. So, take a major brand name sports drink, they want to add it in as an ingredient to aid recovery, but not if it changes the taste profile. And that’s what Aqua Phase delivers. It’s tasteless, odourless, and stable in an aqueous solution and when used with CBD performs so much more effectively than when it is in oil.”
Turning to the Australian market, Patterson said Aqua Phase opens opportunities in three markets – food and beverage in the first instance, then pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.
One of the challenges for food and beverage manufacturers including functional ingredients in their products is getting them at a level where consumers can get the therapeutic benefit. Patterson said this is where Aqua Phase can help.
