Innovative Vapor Delivery System for Herbals
INNOVATION
The American Chiropractor
The market for herbals is continuously changing and improving when the opportunity exists. Someone that has studied ayurvedic systems and herbal delivery is Jason Edwards, CEO of Rebel Herbs. Jason has even innovated an electronic delivery system for these herbs, with the goal of improving their delivery.
This approach uses the ancient concept of Dhum Pan, or herbal smoking, and makes it for patients through the use of an electronic delivery system, that burns the herbal oil. Read on to learn about how the ancient concept of Dhum Pan may be used safely today for your patients overall quality of life to improve.
TAC: Can you tell us about Rebel Herbs?
JE: Rebel Herbs is a brand of botanical products dedicated to the health of the world. We pull from the science of Ayurveda, but our formulator creates simplified formulas with a tridoshic nature. We offer unique delivery systems that help today’s practitioner reach the patient where they are in terms of need. Our powders allow the patient to make ingestion a part of their lifestyle, while the encapsulated products offer the convenience of a pill. The herbal vapors give an immediate result even if the patient has a troubled digestive tract or difficulty in swallowing.
TAC: When was it started?
JE: We launched the Rebel Herbs brand in late 2015 and began showing prototypes of the vapors in 2016, launching them by summer of 2016.
TAC: What was the motivation?
JE: It is our mission to bring the US and the world a simpler and more usable Ayurveda. With that single purpose, we created Rebel Herbs as a healthcare-professional-only line so that those professionals could help us tell the story of a simpler herbalism than the perceived complexity of the science of Ayurveda. We move this mission forward with ethical practices and the mindful pursuit of a fully sustainable operation that is fair to everyone involved in the growing, harvesting, production, marketing, and selling of Rebel Herbs.
TAC: What types of products are offered?
JE: We offer herbal supplements in capsules, dual-extracted powders that can be mixed with water or smoothies, herbal massage oils, and herbal vapors.
TAC: Is your product line only herbs, or are there also nutritional supplements?
JE: We are a botanical-only company, so we do not use isolated vitamins or minerals in our products.
TAC: How long have you been offering the vapor delivery system for the herbals?
JE: We started offering demonstrations at chiropractic shows in 2016 and launched the vapor products for purchase by the end of that summer. The concept of the vapor products comes from a 5,000-year-old therapy in Ayurveda called Dhum Pan, which is the smoking of therapeutic herbs. After comparing this method of combustion-based delivery to the concept of vaporization, we felt that we could improve Dhum Pan using the technology of the day. We spent a lot of time on research and development to remove the offending ingredients from vaping liquids and still deliver a great patient experience that offers the effects we were looking for. Now we offer a product with no solvents, no nicotine, no CBD, no cannabis, and no synthetic carriers, like propylene glycol, PEG, and vegetable glycerin. We use only 100% natural oils and extracts.
TAC: Have you been able to monitor the dosage delivery?
JE: To some degree, we can show the dosing, but it is important to remember that these are microdoses of the products.
Because we are not adding a large amount of material to the body, we are not as concerned with the exact dosing, as the transfer through the lungs is based on surface area in contact with the vapor.
TAC: How much of the active ingredient in the herbs makes it into the blood?
JE: Each cartridge is filled with 750 mg of material, and each cartridge has about 300 puffs (depending somewhat on the individual strength of the person’s draw), so each puff would give the body 2.5 mg of material, and with the three puffs per dose that is a net of 7.5 mg. Not all of this will transfer to the bloodstream, but even if all of it does, this is a tiny dose compared to an ingested product. No one would expect much impact on health from such a low dose if you were ingesting it.
TAC: Do certain patients respond better using the vapor pen more than others?
JE: This is an ideal delivery for people with impaired digestion, acute issues that require immediate benefit, and people with difficulty swallowing. When we launched this, we felt that younger patients would be the driving force, but we are seeing that older patients (40 and up) are still the primary users of the vapor delivery. Primarily because they are the ones that have the issues we seek to address and many have tried a lot of products, but they get limited results. Once they try the vapor and get the results in just minutes, they are generally sold.
TAC: Any other comments?
JE: We have done our baseline tox studies, which have shown no damage or histologic changes in the major or gan systems even at 10 times the recommended dosing. Also, I have a case study by Dr. Adam Breiner, ND, in New York. He took patients and administered an EEG brain scan getting the baseline reading, then gave the patients a single dose of the Nuroade vapor (3 puffs). After a 20-minute waiting period, he repeated the EEG brain scan. The results show an amazing 29% increase in neuroplasticity and a 58% increase in overall brain wave activity. This is after only a single dose. What else do we have that can impact the brain in such an immediate and visible way?
You may contact Rebel Herbs’ CEO, Jason P. Edwards, at [email protected]
