Improving Cannabis Products Taste with Bitter Blocker Nanoemulsion Formulations

Consumers generally tend to avoid bitter-tasting foods, even when they contain beneficial bioactives [1]. Therefore, a food or beverage’s bitter flavor profile can significantly influence consumer preferences and product acceptance.

Infusing beverages with CBD and/or THC-containing nanoemulsions has become increasingly popular. However, these infused cannabis products can vary widely in bitterness, ranging from virtually undetectable to very unpleasant. Consequently, it is essential to explore ingredients for bitterness reduction.

Manufacturers are now incorporating formulations with bitter blockers and taste maskers into their cannabis food and beverage products to enhance taste. Since bitter taste is traditionally challenging to mask, bitter blocker formulations have emerged as essential ingredients.

Nanokinetics®’ bitter blocker formulations are nano-emulsified, water-soluble liquid ingredients that can significantly reduce the bitterness of cannabis beverages, enhancing overall flavor and consumer satisfaction.

Where Does the Bitterness of Cannabis Nanoemulsions Come From?

1. Cannabis extract itself: Cannabis extracts are known to have a bitter and earthy taste. When formulated as a nanoemulsion, the process not only increases their bioavailability but also amplifies their flavor due to a tremendous increase in the surface area exposed to the taste buds.

2. The formulation: Many ingredients used to produce cannabis nanoemulsions can have bitter and unpleasant flavors. For instance, carrier oils may turn rancid and develop a bitter or burnt taste when oxidized. Additionally, most food-grade surfactants are bitter and often have “chemical” or “soapy” flavors. For tasteless nano-formulation ingredients, check out Sonomechanics’ All-in-One NanoStabilizers®.

Ways to Manage the Bitterness from Cannabis Nanoemulsions

1. Avoid creating low-volume, highly concentrated beverages.

2. Use compatible flavors—beverages like beer, coffee, and various teas (especially peppermint) effectively mask bitterness.

3. Introduce bitter blockers and taste-masking agents containing essential oils such as peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon, ginger, lemon, orange, and more.

The Role of Nanokinetics®’ Water-Soluble Technology for Enhancing Cannabis Products 

The challenge is that most flavor and therapeutic (bioactive) substances are oil-soluble (lipophilic) and do not dissolve in water. This makes them difficult to mix into beverages—they quickly form a separate layer—and hard for the water-based human body to absorb, leading to low bioavailability and delayed therapeutic effects.

Our technology addresses this issue by making oils effectively water-soluble. We formulate lipophilic substances—such as full- and broad-spectrum plant extracts, distillates, bioactive isolates, vitamins, essential oils, terpenes, and nutraceuticals—as suspensions of nanometer-sized oil droplets in water or dry water-soluble powders. These liquid and powdered nano-formulations are water-compatible and can be easily infused into food and beverage products, where the droplets remain invisible, homogeneously distributed, and permanently stable.

Nanokinetics® also adds a new dimension to cannabis manufacturing by improving the perceived taste and experience of cannabis products.

About Nanokinetics® Bitter Blocker Nanoemulsions

Nanokinetics® liquid bitter blocker nanoemulsions, crafted with advanced nanoemulsion technology and clean label ingredients, effectively suppress bitterness in water-soluble formulations. This innovation presents an opportunity for cannabis manufacturers to create novel functional foods and beverage products with reduced bitterness.

Nanokinetics® bitter blocker nanoemulsions are designed to be mixed into beverages or other water-based finished products that contain a bioactive nanoemulsion with a bitter profile. Our multi-component, water-compatible bitter blocker nanoemulsions enable manufacturers to significantly suppress the bitterness present in their nano-emulsified bioactive ingredients (full- and broad-spectrum cannabis extracts, distillates, isolates, vitamins, essential oils, terpenes, nutraceuticals) and beverages, replacing it with various flavors.

Our offerings include a diverse portfolio of bitter blocker nano-formulations, some of which are available as samples on our online store for customers to evaluate and test. We also offer custom formulations on demand to meet the specific needs of our clients.

References:

1. Rodrigues, J. F., Soares, C., Moreira, M. M., Ramalhosa, M. J., Duarte, N. d. F., Delerue–Matos, C., … & Grosso, C. (2023). Moringa oleifera lam. commercial beverages: a multifaceted investigation of consumer perceptions, sensory analysis, and bioactive properties. Foods, 12(11), 2253. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12112253.