What is Buccal Ingestion?

Buccal ingestion is a fast-acting, long-lasting and consistent way of administering cannabinoids that might be the perfect ingestion method to help you achieve your wellness goals. Buccal ingestion is similar to sublingual ingestion but has some important differences. In both ingestion methods, the drug is absorbed through the mucous membrane lining the oral cavity such that it directly enters the bloodstream. As a result, the drug avoids first pass metabolism in the liver. Compared to orally consuming a drug, the buccal route of administration is faster and has better bioavailability. If you aren’t familiar with all of the ways that cannabis can be consumed, head over to What is the Best Way to Take Cannabis for Your Wellness Goals?

Is Buccal Better?

The primary difference between buccal ingestion and sublingual ingestion is where the drug is placed in the mouth. In sublingual ingestion, the drug is placed under the tongue. But in buccal ingestion, the drug is placed between the upper gums and cheek. CBD must be in contact with the oromucosal lining for about five minutes before it can pass into the bloodstream. Unlike the area underneath the tongue, the buccal area has the least amount of saliva. As a result, the drug is not washed into the digestive system, but is able to pass through the mucous membrane into the bloodstream. Trokie is a wellness-oriented CBD brand that is the pioneer of buccal cannabinoid ingestion. The word “trokie” comes from the Greek word for lozenge. Trokie’s first product was the Rapid Relief Tab, invented in 2014 by Dr. Kent Crowley, a Doctor of Pharmacy. The Rapid Relief Tab were formulated to deliver precise doses of CBD and/or THC through buccal administration to allow for rapid, long-lasting symptom relief.

What is the Rapid Relief Tab?

Rapid Relief Tabs are different from other common ingestion methods like tinctures or edibles. In a tincture, the active ingredients in cannabis are extracted using ethanol. Tinctures are typically packaged in dropper bottles that are designed for sublingual use. However, ethanol can irritate the mucous membrane lining the inside of the mouth. As a result, tinctures are rarely suitable for long-term, consistent use. Trokie’s Rapid Relief Tab use a patented technology to deliver safe, long-lasting doses of CBD without the irritation caused by ethanol. The Rapid Relief Tab uses polyethylene glycol (PEG), a muco-inert coating that is “considered the gold standard in engineering mucus-penetrating surfaces.” PEG grafting “reduces adhesion to mucin fibers, allowing nanoparticles to quickly diffuse through the interstitial fluids enabling sustained mucosal drug delivery.” The mucous membrane in the mouth is a barrier that must be penetrated in order for the drug to enter the blood stream. In plain English, coating nanoparticles with PEG enhances the delivery of the drug by reducing interaction with the mucous membrane in the mouth. Trokie’s Rapid Relief Tab allow for rapid onset and long duration of relief, making them particularly useful for wellness goals such as easing mild muscle pain after workouts or promoting relaxation after a busy day at work. To ensure optimal absorption, place the Rapid Relief Tab in the upper gum area of the mouth rather than the lower gum area.

Trokie CBD for Athletes

The Trokie Rapid Relief Tabs are discrete and easy to administer, making them well-suited for athletes and active adults. For example, ultra-marathoners often wedge a Rapid Relief Tab into their upper lip and allow it to slowly dissolve as they pound out the miles. Trokie conducted a case study to determine how regular dosing of its Rapid Relief CBD lozenges improved physical recovery in a 33-year-old female CrossFit athlete. The athlete assessed her physical recovery using the Whoop wearable, a device that collects data on heart rate, sleep, calories burned and heart rate variability (HRV). In the study, the athlete engaged in her normal training for two weeks. The first week, she did not use Trokie CBD lozenges. The second week, she took one 10mg dose of CBD in a Trokie Rapid Relief Tab after every training session. In the first week, she maintained an average recovery of 49%, with an average HRV of 35 and a resting heart rate of 58bpm. She averaged 7 hours and 28 minutes of sleep per night. The second week when she took one Rapid Relief Tab after every workout, her recovery metrics were better. Her average recovery was higher at 78%, her average HRV was higher at 39, and her resting heart rate was lower at 55 bpm, all indications that her body was more capable of taking on strain and more physically recovered.

Want to Try Buccal Ingestion?

Jointly has expanded our product database to include edibles that are designed for buccal ingestion. Is buccal ingestion the right ingestion method for your wellness goals? Buccal ingestion is ideal for people who want sustained relief in a discrete format. If you experiment with this ingestion method, we encourage you to record your experiences on Jointly. When Jointly users look up a product, they see how other users rated the product based on how well it helped them achieve their wellness goals. By recording your experiences on Jointly, not only will you gain important insights that will help you achieve your wellness goals with cannabis and CBD, but you will also contribute important information about this little-known ingestion method to the wider Jointly community. Download the Jointly app on the App Store or the Google Play Store to get started on your cannabis wellness journey.