What else is in the extract besides CBD.

What are cannabinoids?

Cannabinoids are a group of compounds the hemp plant makes itself, mostly in the glandular hairs on the flowering parts. More than a hundred have been described. CBD and THC are the two best known, but on a detailed batch report you'll come across more.

That last one is a nice detail: CBN is not something the plant aims for, but a breakdown product. So a higher CBN content mainly tells you something about the age or storage conditions of the material.

Which of these compounds are in an actual product depends on the extract type. That difference is on the page about extract types.

And terpenes?

Terpenes are the aroma compounds. They are not only found in hemp but in almost every plant: they are the same kind of compounds that give pine forest, lemon peel and lavender their scent. In hemp they are responsible for the herbal, sometimes slightly resinous aroma you smell and taste in a natural oil.

Terpenes can be partly lost during extraction, because they are volatile and sensitive to heat. That is one of the reasons producers choose a low-temperature method, such as the CO₂ extraction Renova uses.

Flavonoids

The third group, and the least discussed. Flavonoids are pigments found in a great many plants, from apples to tea. In hemp they contribute to colour and, to a lesser extent, to taste. Honestly, there isn't much more to say about them here without crossing the line on claims.

The entourage effect: a hypothesis, not a fact

You come across the term everywhere. The idea is that the compounds from the plant work out differently together than each one alone, and that a broad extract would therefore be more than the sum of its parts.

We mention it here because you are going to read about it, but we add straight away that it is a hypothesis. There is no approved health claim for CBD, let alone for plant compounds working together. Brands that use the entourage effect as a selling point present a research question as a property of their product. That is exactly the kind of step we don't take.

What it is useful for in practice: it explains why some people prefer a broad extract to pure CBD. For now, it is no more than a preference.

Do more compounds automatically mean better?

No, and that idea is tempting enough to name separately. A more extensive cannabinoid profile on a report is not a quality score. It tells you something about the type of extract and about the plant, not about how good the product is.

What does say something about quality: whether a report exists at all, whether it matches your batch number, and whether there was also a test for contaminants. The reading guide goes through those points, and the reports themselves are in the batch finder.

Where do you find the profile of your product?

In the batch report. It gives a value for each measured cannabinoid, usually in percent or milligrams per gram. The accompanying explanation of percentages and milligrams is in the knowledge base.