Cannabis-mushroom hybrid supplements: Tikun Olam-Cannbit & Ambrosia-SupHerb target European market

03 Sep 2021 --- Israeli company Tikun Olam-Cannbit has entered an agreement with Ambrosia-SupHerb to develop nutritional supplements based on cannabis and mushrooms. NutritionInsight speaks to Tikun Olam’s Lihi Bar-Lev Schlider, head of R&D, and Guy Hiam, head of business development to discuss the partnership’s forthcoming pilot research.

The new research will be led by the R&D teams of the parties working together to develop the products, including combining components of additional nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and plants.

Right after signing the agreement, the companies will apply to Israel’s Medical Cannabis Unit to receive approval for the R&D activity.

The specific compounds chosen for each product are expected to help strengthen the immune system and promote a regular bowel movement.Synergies of mushroom and cannabis
Medicinal mushrooms are now known to have many properties, which include inducing anti-inflammatory activity, supporting and strengthening immune systems, providing antioxidants and killing cancer cells.

According to Innova Market Insights, supplements launched with mushroom ingredients have had an average annual growth of 13 percent between 2015 and 2019.

Cannabis-derived compounds, on the other hand, have been formulated into a rapidly diversified range of supplements and nutritional food and beverage formats that support sleep and stress relief for a healthy mood.

There are several reasons for the effectiveness of the combination of medicinal mushrooms and cannabis, Hiam explains. “Treatments combining medicinal mushrooms with Tikun Olam-Cannbit’s specific cannabis compound on various medical conditions will boost the therapeutic effect.”

The “Entourage” effect
The specific compounds chosen for each product are expected to help strengthen the immune system and promote a regular bowel movement, remarks Bar-Lev Schlider.

“The field of mushrooms has been researched for decades now,” she notes. “We have sufficient proof and understanding of the combinations of specific cannabis strains and medicinal mushrooms.”

Through its clinical research, Tikun Olam-Cannbit has discovered the “Entourage effect,” meaning that formulating using the whole cannabis plant will yield higher effectiveness than if each compound in the plant were isolated.

The “Entourage effect” in cannabis compounds takes place similarly among mushroom compounds.Cannabis compounds, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN), have been found to work synergistically when consumed together, in such a way that enhances the overall psychoactive effects of the entire cannabis plant.

“We assume that the same goes for medicinal mushrooms, which have four main active compounds,” says Hiam. “We believe that the entourage effect similarly works in their case.”

Tapping into mood-elevating properties
Medicinal mushrooms are well combined with soothing herbs, notes Bar-Lev Schlider. “We assume that combining certain mushrooms with specific cannabis strains that have a relaxing effect will improve the treatment.”

In addition, certain compounds in medicinal mushrooms modulate the endocannabinoid system and may increase the cannabinoids’ bioavailability.

“There are already some products that combine CBD or other cannabinoids with mushrooms,” says Bar-Lev Schilder. 

“We chose a specific composition of cannabinoids that were already found effective based on specific research parameters, which have a similar effect to those of the medicinal mushrooms. When taken together, we predict the therapeutic effects of the two ingredients will be enhanced.”

Mushroom-based supplements have proliferated in NPD. (Credit: NeonMind)Setting sights on export to Europe
The mushroom market, with its roots in the Far East, has reached the US and Europe in recent years. It is a market experiencing accelerated growth that is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, highlights Tikun Olam-Cannbit.

The company is setting its sights on exporting to the European market, with further ambitions to locally market its products once regulation permits it.

“We view the combined power of empirical research and extraction expertise that we have along with the product development and shipping abilities of SupHerb in the nutritional supplement market in Israel and worldwide as perfect synergy,” comments Avinoam Sapir, general manager, Tikun Olam-Cannbit.

“This is a market with tremendous sales potential, as we have seen the mushroom market flourishing in the East and growing in the US. Our empirical knowledge in the field of medical cannabis brings added value in creation of a product that heralds a new message for users worldwide.”

Ambrosia-SupHerb is Israel’s largest nutritional supplement manufacturer. It is currently the marketer of Solgar’s nutritional supplements in Israel.

By Benjamin Ferrer, with additional reporting by Katherine Durrell