Midnight Oils

Last Updated on December 30, 2023 by Marie Kathleen

How cannabis evolved from a leafy herb smoked for recreational, medicinal, and religious purposes, to a highly-refined and accurately- administered extract known as HTFSE.   

The number of different cannabis extracts Canada now has on the market has increased exponentially since cannabis was legalized back in 2018. 

As the use of cannabis and its many extracts has become a legitimate addition to the lives of health-conscious and recreational consumers, there has also been a rapid increase in the number of science-based, laboratory techniques for concentrating and creating ever more highly concentrated and potent cannabis derivatives.

HTFSE on the Rise

One of the most popular derivatives of cannabis, and one which is widely used these days, is a pair of substances called Full Spectrum Extracts. During the laboratory processes which are used to distill these active ingredients from the raw cannabis plant, two different types of extract are isolated. Each one has a different set of chemical characteristics and a different set of uses for consumers.

These two different types of the extract are High Terpene Full Spectrum Extract (HTFSE), and High Cannabinoid Full Spectrum Extract (HCFSE). But what are these two different types of cannabis extract? And how can users include them in their cannabis journey in ways that will provide the greatest benefits?

Let’s take a look at these two good oils, how they are made, and which one will be best for you.

It’s All About the Trichomes!

The trichomes found on cannabis plants are tiny filaments and fibres which coat the exterior surface of the cannabis plant’s flowers, along with its leaves, and, to a lesser extent, its stems and roots. These minute appendages secrete many of a cannabis plant’s active ingredients especially the chemicals known as terpenes and cannabinoids.

Common Garden Appendages

Although trichomes are found on virtually all of a cannabis plant’s surfaces, they are more concentrated on the plant’s flowers, and on the bracts (protective petals) that surround the flower’s reproductive organs. 

Trichomes appear like tiny hairs, and the gleaming, crystalline sheen that cannabis plants possess is a result of the sticky and sugary exudations of these tiny protrusions.

The word trichrome itself is derived from a Greek word tricoma which simply means “hair.” Trichomes are found on many plants and also on different types of algae and on lichens.

Taking Root

Often, trichomes are referred to as secondary roots, and appear on parts of plants that are beneath the soil, where they assist the plant to absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil. 

Trichomes may also be associated with various forms of subterranean communication between plants, in which a plant can notify its neighbours, using chemical messengers, of a potential biological threat, such as insect infestation or foraging animals. These messages can trigger a response in the plants to produce more biological controls to fend off the approaching attack.

Stems, Leaves and Flowers

However, it’s the above-ground parts of a plant that we are concerned with here. A cannabis plant’s trichomes are there to protect it from such things as water loss, ultraviolet radiation and pests. The spaces in and around the trichomes trap a protective envelope of air to prevent the plant from freezing in cold conditions.

The terpenes exuded from the trichomes help the plant to maintain a surface level humidity that protects it from desiccating or drying out. They also provide the cannabis plant with pest and disease defense. The terpenes, which are secreted from tiny spherical glands located at the base of each trichome, act as a chemical deterrent to insects that may attack the plant, and can even confine insects in their sticky clutches. 

So as you can see, evolution has provided the cannabis plant with a bunch of substances for reasons that are specific and practical for the survival of the plant. But for us humans, these substances have a bunch of uses that go way beyond the original physiological benefits they evolved to provide the cannabis plant with.

HTFSE: High Terpene Full Spectrum Extract.

The chemical processes used to extract the active ingredients from cannabis plant matter are highly complex and somewhat dangerous. They require specialist laboratory equipment, and stringent testing regimes to ensure that the resulting products are not only extremely pure, but are free from the solvents and chemicals used during the extraction process.

Terpenes and Cannabinoids

All extracts derived from cannabis result in different combinations of active compounds. These potent and highly-concentrated cannabis extracts can be defined quite simply as: “cannabis extracts that contain the full range of therapeutic and psychoactive compounds produced by the cannabis plants trichomes.”

Different combinations of the active substances that are contained in a full spectrum extract will depend on the quality of the plant material that was used as a base during the extraction.

Is It HTFSE or HCFSE?

While both HTFSE and HCFSE are full-spectrum extracts, it’s the subtle differences that make all the …well, difference!

High Terpene Full Spectrum Extracts focus on maximizing the taste of the product by retaining more of the tasty, fragrant terpenes: those compounds we talked about earlier that help the plant fend off insects and bugs.

High Cannabinoid Full Spectrum Extracts, on the other hand, are extracts that maximize the potency of the product by having a much higher concentration of cannabinoids: the chemicals that protect the plant from dedication and UV light.

The Answer Lies in the Entourage

Although all these acronyms and scientific definition might seem a little confusing, the effects of both HTFSEs and HCFSEs is best summed up by the phrase “entourage effect.” This describes the way that the compounds contained in these extracts work together synergistically to produce the user’s desired outcome. If one or more of the compounds is missing, the effects of the product will be in some way diminished.

Let Matrix Extracts Show You The Way

Whatever result you are aiming for in your choice of cannabis extract, the staff at Matrix Extracts are here to help you along every step of your marijuana journey. 

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cannabis, from plain weed to distillate syringes filled with HTFSE goodness, can be found here on their website and by asking their helpful and knowledgeable staff.

So just jump on in…your HTFSE experience can begin right here. Have funn/