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Abstract
Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive component of cannabis sativa, is shown to have a number of therapeutic benefits including pain management, treatment of epilepsy and sleep disorders, and many others. CBD has low bioavailability due its poor water solubility. This study uses ultra-pure and highly stable crystalline CBD manufactured by Purisys Inc. and investigates five approaches to increase the water solubility: (1) addition of a surfactant, (2) particle size reduction, (3) creation of an amorphous solid dispersion, (4) spray drying, and (5) creation of cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. Of the five approaches, the cyclodextrin inclusion complexes had the most significant effect on the CBD water solubility, increasing the water solubility over 7 mg/mL, which is 9,000 times higher than unmodified crystalline CBD. The increase in water solubility allows for more efficacious CBD drug formulations that require less CBD to induce a therapeutic effect, while minimizing potential toxicity and adverse drug reactions. Further research should confirm the results of this study and investigate combining solubility methods like cyclodextrin inclusion complexes with spray drying.