The Shift Toward Evidence-Based Veterinary Cannabinoid Formulations
Research continues to investigate cannabinoids, including CBD, in companion animals across areas such as pain, mobility, anxiety-related, and skin-related conditions.
For animal-health developers, formulation is an important consideration. Conventional CBD is oil-soluble and water-insoluble, creating challenges for absorption, delivery, formulation flexibility, and consistent performance. This creates an opportunity for cannabinoid ingredients innovated for improved bioavailability, CBD functional efficacy and more predictable delivery.
Why Water Insolubility Limits Conventional CBD Veterinary Products
Conventional CBD is not soluble in water, which limits its applications and functional efficacy for pet health. Research in dogs has shown very low (0–19%) and inconsistent absorption of conventional CBD veterinary formulations, leading to lower and unpredictable therapeutic efficacy.
The water insolubility of CBD also makes pet health formulations harder to process, usually requiring oils to dissolve the active ingredient. But even when CBD is dissolved in oils, absorption remains low — active ingredients still need to dissolve in water-based body fluids to be absorbed.
Introducing Trait Companion: True Water-Soluble CBD for Pet Health and Wellness
Trait Biosciences has developed Trait Companion, its cannabinoid ingredient platform innovated for companion-animal applications, created through advanced enzymatic and chemical processes that convert conventional water-insoluble CBD into true water-soluble active ingredients. These are truly water-soluble ingredients — not emulsified, suspended, or microencapsulation-based modifications.
Trait has scaled production of its water-soluble CBDs into GMP-grade active ingredients using patent-protected technologies, giving formulators a dependable source of companion animal ingredients for veterinary medicines and supplements for animal health and wellness applications.
Because it is truly water-soluble, Trait Companion is easy to formulate into veterinary medicines or incorporate into pet food, treats, supplements, delivering improved and more predictable health benefits compared to conventional CBD.
How Trait Companion Supports Pet Formulation
Simplicity
Trait Companion does not require oils or added chemicals to address water insolubility, supporting simpler, cleaner-label formulations and manufacturing processes.
Stability
Reduced risk of formulation instabilities related to the use of oils.
Bioavailability & Efficacy
Water-soluble Trait CBD (Trait Companion) has superior absorption and bioavailability than conventional CBD. Absorption is more predictable and consistent, and less affected by food intake — resulting in more consistent and predictable therapeutic efficacy.
Benefits for Pet Supplement and Veterinary Formulation Manufacturers
For brands developing pet wellness products and veterinary formulations, Trait Companion simplifies formulation by eliminating the need for oils and emulsifiers, supports more accurate and predictable dosing per unit, and reduces manufacturing complexity — all while enabling cleaner-label products.
- Eliminates oils and added chemicals required by conventional CBD
- Supports accurate, predictable dosing per unit
- Reduces manufacturing complexity
- Enables cleaner-label animal health ingredients
Compatible with Diverse Veterinary Formulation Formats
Trait Companion’s true water solubility allows incorporation into a range of veterinary and pet health products.
Oral: Tablets and Chews
In tablets, chews, treats, and other oral products, Trait Companion supports consistent incorporation and precise active ingredient amounts.
Liquid Formulations
Trait Companion forms true aqueous solutions, which are inherently more stable than the emulsified formulations required for oils. Water solubility is the first step toward absorption, bioavailability, and efficacy — and in true aqueous solution, Trait Companion surpasses conventional CBD in achieving superior absorption.
Topical Formulations
Trait Companion can be incorporated into water-oil formulations such as creams as well as water-based formats such as gels and aqueous sprays, providing formulation flexibility for topical applications.
Other Veterinary Dosage Forms
Trait Companion provides a platform for other veterinary dosage forms where aqueous solubility is advantageous, subject to formulation, safety, efficacy and route-specific requirements.
Pet Health Applications
Trait has been conducting studies to support the functional efficacy of CBD in companion animals across areas including pain, mobility, anxiety-related, and skin-related conditions.
Trait Companion is innovated to support consistent delivery and dosing across products developed for these and other companion animal health and wellness applications.
GMP-Grade Manufacturing You Can Formulate with Confidence
Trait Companion is produced at scale as a GMP-grade active ingredient using Trait Biosciences’ patent-protected enzymatic and chemical processes — meeting the quality standards required for veterinary pharmaceutical and regulated supplement applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Trait Companion and what makes it different from standard CBD for pets?
Trait Companion is a water-soluble CBD ingredient developed specifically for companion animal health applications. Unlike conventional CBD, which shows very low and inconsistent absorption in dogs, Trait Companion is a truly water-soluble molecule innovated to improve absorption predictability and therapeutic consistency.
What veterinary formulation formats is Trait Companion compatible with?
Trait Companion is innovated for diverse veterinary formulation types, including oral tablets, soft chews, treats, liquid supplements, topical gels, and other veterinary dosage forms. Its true water solubility allows direct incorporation without oil carriers across all of these formats.
How does Trait Companion benefit pet supplement manufacturers?
It simplifies formulation by eliminating the need for oils and emulsifiers, supports more accurate and predictable dosing per unit, reduces manufacturing complexity, and enables cleaner-label formulations — all priorities for veterinary supplement brands building wellness pet food ingredients and supplement lines.
Which pet health indications has CBD demonstrated efficacy for?
Research has demonstrated CBD’s therapeutic potential in companion animals for conditions including pain, mobility, anxiety-related, and skin-related conditions. Trait Companion is innovated to enhance CBD functional efficacy more reliably through improved bioavailability.
Does Trait Companion meet GMP-grade manufacturing standards?
Yes. Trait Companion is produced at scale as a GMP-grade active ingredient using Trait Biosciences’ patent-protected enzymatic and chemical processes — meeting the quality standards required for veterinary pharmaceutical and regulated supplement applications.
Explore Other Trait Biosciences Innovations
Trait Biosciences develops proprietary water-soluble cannabinoid technologies innovated for different applications across human and pet health and wellness.
Trait GlycoRenew
Water-soluble CBD technology innovated for topical, skincare, and cosmeceutical formulations.
Trait VitaComplex
A proprietary water-soluble cannabinoid technology innovated for pharmaceutical formulation and development.
Trait Distilled™
Water-soluble CBD technology innovated for functional / nutraceutical formulation. No emulsifiers required.
