“Background: The recent interest among consumers in industrial hemp due to health and wellness benefits has led to several products from industrial hemp, including cannabidiol (CBD) oil. CBD oil extraction from hemp buds and flowers generates by-product biomass (hemp flakes), often posing disposal challenges and with little or no applications. We hypothesized that hemp flakes possess residual compounds with nutritional and health value that could be used to improve utilization.
Methods: Locally sourced hemp flakes were compared to three commercial hemp protein products. The nutritional composition (proximate analysis), heavy metals (Al, Cu, As, Pb, Co, Cd), and functional composition (phenolic and antioxidant properties-total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoid compounds (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP), 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC)), (CBD, cannabiodiolic acid-CBDA, cannabichromene-CBC, cannabigerol-CBG, and cannabinol-CBN) contents were determined and compared.
Findings: Hemp flakes had a similar nutritional composition to commercial hemp protein products, with heavy metal levels within FDA allowed limits. The by-product had significantly higher CBDA levels than commercial products. Overall, hemp flakes had comparable nutrient composition and antioxidant capabilities. Based on the protein composition of hemp flakes (31.62 %) versus the highest commercial product (43 %), hemp flakes are an acceptable functional food ingredient.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39165951/
“It is predicted that by 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 billion, and a sustained food supply will be a concern; therefore, it is appropriate to examine alternatives, including the exploration of agricultural waste materials. Hemp flakes as a by-product from CBD oil extraction could be utilized due to their nutritional and functional value. The hemp flake used in this work demonstrated to hold nutritional and health components comparable to related commercial products. The antioxidant levels showed variations attributed to the source of hemp material and solvent extraction method. Hemp flakes exhibited high and similar antioxidant properties as measured by TPC, TFC, FRAP, and TEAC and possessed comparable radical scavenging properties as measured by DPPH. The hemp by-product showed comparative amounts of cannabinoids with the highest content of cannabidiolic acid, which is known to break down to cannabidiol and possess functional benefits. Further, the results of this work have exemplified that hemp flakes generated from CBD oil extraction have a considerable nutritional and functional value that supports its potential to be incorporated in food preparations as an ingredient. It was also established that the hemp flakes contained levels below the permissible levels of heavy metals in foods, according to health and environmental agencies. It is concluded that the by-product from CBD oil extraction could be utilized as an ingredient in food processing, such as a composite with other ingredients to complement nutrition and health functionality for consumers.”