My previous experiment with MCT oil was with decarbed flower - worked great in a Magic Butter machine but however you prefer to do your oil would work fine.
I've heard of MCT oil because of all the keto/'bulletproof coffee' stuff, but I really chose it because it's easier to work with than coconut oil if you're not cooking with it since it's permanently liquid - I encapsulated some (1 00 capsule held just under 1ml oil IIRC) and used blunt syringes to just suck some oil out of the bottle.
My local Whole Foods/Sprouts stores have a few varieties of MCT oil, house brand and other - I believe Onnit MCT oil is 100% coconut and it wasn't noticeably more expensive than the other brands.
This time I think I'm aiming for 5mg THC: 15ml oil so I can basically just take a shot out of a small measuring cup I have without worrying about syringes or encapsulation.
Now it's just a matter of determining:
1. Will this MCT oil work better for extraction than standard coconut oil?
I think it will because it should be 100% saturated fatty acids vs. coconut oil's roughly 93%.
2. Will this MCT oil work better for oral ingestion than standard coconut oil?
I think it will because it's 100% medium chains (vs. 63% in coconut oil) and it's my understanding that medium chains are absorbed and transported directly to the liver where the thc is converted into 11 hydroxy thc, which is supposed to be up to 3x more powerful. However, I've seen other claims that only the medium chain C12 (lauric) is processed by the liver.....(see "where stuff gets weird" below)
That leads to the next question though.... Choosing the best type of 100% Coconut oil based MCT oil.
Choosing between options like 100% C6, 100% C8, 100% C10, 100% C12, or a mixed MCT. If mixed, it's a matter of deciding if the shorter C's should be favored over the longer C's (and if Lauric Acid, C12 should be avoided completely).
Here is where stuff gets weird....
I've seen websites claiming that C12 (lauric) acts more like a long chain triglyceride than a medium chain one, despite it being classified as a medium chain triglyceride. And again, I've seen websites claim that MCT's are processed by the liver more so than LCTs and therefore produce more 11 hydroxy thc. But I've seen other sites claiming that the shorter MCT's (namely 8 and 10) are actually less likely to go through the liver pathway than C12 (lauric), because they can be converted into ketones and used in the brain instead. These sites report that C12 is the technically classified MCT that HAS to be processed by the liver.
So I guess what I really need to know is which MCT (8, 10, or 12) is most likely to be processed by the liver?
Some MCT oils seem to have the same % of C12 as coconut oil, but they gain more C8 and C10 in exchange for less LCT's and less Unsaturated fats. Since they have the same amount of C12 and overall more saturated fat than standard coconut oil, I'd say they have to be better for the extraction of thc. It's just a question of whether or not the additional C8 and C10 will be processed by the liver or not. I guess it's also a question of whether the increased rapidness of absorption that C8 and C10 offer will substantially offset the reduction of 11 hydroxy thc production they might induce by not passing through the liver....
I've been doing lots more research today and most other sites suggest that both C8 and C10 are processed through the liver FIRST before going on to rapid uptake in the brain.
It also appears that C12 (lauric) is generally about 66% processed in the liver and 34% processed by the lymphatic system. So that would seem to suggest that favoring a MCT oil that is entirely C8 and C10 (with no C12) might actually be better for thc absorption / 11 hydroxy thc production via the liver. Seems they are also more likely to cause stomach upset, diarrhea, and an energy boost.
I think I'll ease into this transition from using coconut oil to using c8 + c10 specific MCT oil 100% derived from coconuts. First I'll try using an MCT oil 100% produced from coconut oil that is a combo of C8, C10, and C12. I'd like to compare that to my usual 100% coconut oil baseline. I'm going to try this one....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XM0Y9S...d=1486161611&sr=sr-1&keywords=premium+mct+oil
which appears to be: 4800mg C8 (38%), 3900mg C10 (31%), and 4000mg C12 (31%)
for those new to the concept, regular coconut oil is roughly: C8 (7%), C10 (8%), C12 (48%)
