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Home Herbal Preparations: Tinctures

Home Herbal Preparations: Tinctures

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DATE : Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:44:58 PDT
Entered in Database : 2008-10-29 14:44:58
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Listen When herbs contain non-water soluble chemical compounds, larger amounts to be processed or long term storage is required then the next step from Infusions and Decoctions is Tinctures. This is achieved through the use of an alcohol water mix so what the water does not manage to extract the alcohol usually does. It is important to note that only grain (ethanol) alcohols should be used, the resultant tincture is mostly for human consumption and so never use wood (methanol) alcohols, isopropyl alcohols, or denatured ethanols. There are some alcohol to water mix percentages that are specific to the main chemical compound required either needing more alcohol to extract stubborn compounds or for a longer shelf life. Or more water to extract the water soluble compounds but still mixed with alcohol to preserve the resultant tincture. As a general rule the higher the percentage of alcohol the longer the tincture mixture will last. The average bottle of Vodka contains 40 % ABV(alcohol by volume) alcohol or is called 80 Proof, which means if you use Vodka you will get a 40% alcohol and 60% water mix. This percentage will generally make the tincture last for at least a year in the right conditions. If you require a higher alcohol content for a longer shelf life or tough bulky herbs, then try buying 90% alcohol or 180 Proof, Neutral Grain Spirits and then mix as required with distilled water to achieve the percentage you desire. For 40% alcohol content to water mix you would dilute ½ a cup of the 180 Proof with ½ a cup of distilled water. For the most part I use Vodka but if the herb I want to tincture is expensive, rare or very tough then I use the 180 Proof alone to aid extraction or/and best preserve it for as long as possible. Often Neutral Grain spirits are much cheaper than commercial Vodka, Brandy etc. I have read in the USA, Everclear is popular brand amongst Herbalists for its 180 Proof potency and relative cheapness by comparative volume used as opposed to Vodka or Brandy. For your tincture process container, a tightly sealing glass vessel is required. Remember Grannies home made pickle jars; they hold on average one litre and have that tight fitting rubber seal. They are great and if you can get them in a dark nearly opaque glass such as brown or green absolutely perfect. Failing that then as close as you can get to the five things this type of container provides, non reactive tough container surface such as glass, a tight seal to prevent all exposure to air during the process, restricts or prevents the contents being exposed to light, is in a regular volume size that you know and has a wide mouth for easy access during the tincture process. Whilst you can virtually tincture anything there are some herbs which do not benefit from the process because their chemical compounds are too fragile to endure the process. You will find herbs like these will never be recommended for tincture and you can ascertain which ones they are by their absence of recommendation during your research. In general use 55 grams (2 ounces) of dry or powdered herb, or 110 grams (4 ounces) fresh cut herb to every 220 ml (8 liquid ounces) or cup of liquid. It is important to measure the herbs by weight as some herbs are bulkier than other even when dried. The 1 - 4 dry and powdered and 1 - 2 fresh cut herb ratios are a common tincture recommendation but again it can vary from herb to herb. This brings up the fact that the quantities and qualities of chemical compounds found within all dry, powdered or fresh herbs does vary greatly from plant to plant, area to area, season to season. If you factor this and all the variable elements in the process required, one can see that this will result in there always being some variance in the strength of the end result be it a tincture, infusion decoction etc. But apart from lab testing either all the elements or all the final process results, the ratios give you a basic average ratio to employ. It is up to you to gauge if this ratio has been off in strength and then to make the appropriate changes or notes though in general this is not needed. E.g. we had an incredibly hot summer a couple of years back and this resulted in the Habanero Peppers when we harvested them to be exceptionally potent, in this case I used a, 1 - 4 for fresh cut ratio especially when using them with other herbs to make herbal combination tinctures. For a 1 litre (1000 ml, 35 fluid ounces, 4 cups) container place 220 grams (8 ounces) dry or powdered herb or 440 grams (16 ounces) of fresh cut herb into your container and pour you alcohol mix, 880 ml for dry and powdered herbs or fill to the top for fresh cut. Seal the container immediately after pouring and give it a good shake to mix the herb and liquid. Store in a warm dry but dark place, room temperature is fine but keep it away from light, as with all of your herbs and their storage due to oxidation and environmental exposure. Give the container a thorough shake at least once a day up until the last days of the process when you can let it stand and all the sediment will fall to the bottom making the final outpouring easier. This ensures that the alcohol mix thoroughly penetrates the herb mass. You can let the herb extract in the alcohol for a Two weeks minimum and up to Four weeks depending on the herb used. For tougher herbs and their tougher parts such as a hard woody root it is best to keep them in for four weeks to make sure that the alcohol mix has extracted all the chemical compounds it can. A herbalist friend of mine actually buries all her tinctures and oil macerations in the ground during summer where they get the benefit of the solid undisturbed darkness and the gentle heat from the earth around to assist in extraction. Just as long as you can remember where you buried them, or it becomes a bit of a protracted treasure hunt. You can use anything you like to strain the contents of the container after the extraction process, but I find the oft recommended section of plain muslin or cheese cloth to be the best. When you decant the liquid place the cloth over your receiving container and dip the centre of the cloth inside. Pour the liquid slowly and gently so as not to disturb the fine sediment in the tincture container for as long as possible as it blocks up the cloth. Eventually up end the whole jar and make sure all the herb mass and sediment goes into the cloth. Then you can squeeze the herb mass into a tight ball, and this is why cloth is great, and squeeze all the remaining liquid from the herb mass. Quickly seal the new container with the tincture liquid and again store in a dark but cool and dry place ready for your use. Tinctures are a fair bit stronger then infusions and decoctions because the alcohol mix extraction process tends to extract far more chemical compounds than just water alone and is less destructive in some ways in comparison to the destructive heat used in the infusion and decoction process. It also uses a greater ratio of herb to liquid than other preparations. As a result far less is needed for the same effect, the average tincture is 1-2 ml (1-2cc, 30-60 drops) used per dose, generally three times a day during treatment. Whilst you can reduce some of the alcohol by dropping the dose into hot water and then drinking as soon as possible, I feel this does somewhat result in a loss of some of the potency of the tincture, and at 1-2ml it is hardly going to get your children drunk. For children to avoid the often acrid taste try it in juice or just enough water to quickly swallow it. "Tinctures are the best form of administering and preserving herbal medicines because they retain their full medicinal effects for a much longer time, than say powders, which have a lesser shelf life and which are not very tasty, either! Ayurveda, the Indian System of Medicine, recommends that tinctures be used whenever possible in order to give the patient the full medical benefit of a herb. Nowadays, ethyl alcohol, available in pharmacies, can be used to give us very 'pure' tinctures." -Dr Joshi at FarawaySister Tincture is by far my favourite method of preparation and with enough alcohol content and proper storage can potent for years. Though not as alchemically fun as say making essential oils, they tend to be more useful as they are easier to make, store and yield far more. Dried herbs are generally fairly bulky and powdered ones are often much more expensive and harder to obtain, and whilst nothing beats the freshness of fresh cut herbs they are mostly seasonal and can be buried under six feet of snow when you most need them. Tinctures solve a lot of those problems and there is something about seeing a line of bottled tinctures gleaming quietly on the darkened shelves of an herb cupboard. There waiting to be immediately ready when you need them with no further hassle than a dropper and a glass of water.This article was written By Ivor W. Hartmann at The IWH Inquirer.In this Series . Infusions . Decoctions . Tinctures . Essential Oil Extractions . Macerations .

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