Guest guest Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Before I began making tinctures I bought the book " Making Plant Medicine " and read it thoroughly. Today I called mountainroseherbs.com and it turns out that the knowledgeable woman there likes that book also. If you use dried herbs, you need to use water as well as alcohol in the tincture because the dried herbs need to rehydrate. Fresh herbs are often the best but who can get them? The basic ratio is half water and half alcohol for dried herbs. Keep in mind that most alcohol sources are not all alcohol and you need to adjust the amounts to get the correct ratio. The author goes over that. People who are in the know recommend using Everclear or Clear Springs. They are 95% alcohol and are the best extractors. They are not sold over the counter in my state (WA) so I have applied to the liquor board for a special license to be able to buy the available Clear Springs. The savings of doing your own herbs are great. My first batch is almost ready so I'll let you know how it works out. Sheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Another thing is, you should get 'cut and sifted' or whole herbs rather than powdered. The powdered herbs lose their potency quickly. You should grind the 'cut and sifted' or whole herbs yourself right before macerating and I use a coffee grinder for this. The grind consistency should be about that of coarsely ground cornmeal. If powdered herb was used, the alcohol could not circulate properly amongst the particles to extract the constituents. I bought a kitchen scale to weigh the herbs. Since I'm doing a 10-herb mixture, this was necessary. If you are only using one or two herbs, you can fill the jar about half full with herbs and then add fluid to fill to the top. You will need to keep topping because the herbs will absorb the fluid. Store the maceration in a dark area for 3-6 weeks and shake it every day. Mine has been sitting almost a month now. I seem to be getting well rapidly now after adding andrographis. Sheryl > > Before I began making tinctures I bought the book " Making Plant Medicine " and read it > thoroughly. Today I called mountainroseherbs.com and it turns out that the > knowledgeable woman there likes that book also. > > If you use dried herbs, you need to use water as well as alcohol in the tincture because > the dried herbs need to rehydrate. Fresh herbs are often the best but who can get them? > The basic ratio is half water and half alcohol for dried herbs. Keep in mind that most > alcohol sources are not all alcohol and you need to adjust the amounts to get the correct > ratio. The author goes over that. > > People who are in the know recommend using Everclear or Clear Springs. They are 95% > alcohol and are the best extractors. They are not sold over the counter in my state (WA) > so I have applied to the liquor board for a special license to be able to buy the available > Clear Springs. > > The savings of doing your own herbs are great. My first batch is almost ready so I'll let > you know how it works out. > > Sheryl > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Thanks for posting, smackie, just what i wanted to know! I was planning to buy some books about this. any others you recommend? Is your one title enough? What 10 herbs are you blending? What's your recipe? what is it for? I 've had a bag of eleuthero chunks for a year; didn't know what to do with them. Can i boil them to make a decoction? How long do i cook them? Is a decoction effective and potent? What ration, what strentght, how much decoction equals how many milligrams of a pill? Does your book explain decoctions too? Pertinent topic! from purple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Hi Sheryl, Thanks so much for these tips on making your own remedies/tinctures. I'm going to order the herbs soon and get started. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Buhner is skeptic about andrographis and Japanese knotweed tinctures. He doesn't think they work as well. Check planet thrive (I suppose it's there where I read about it). Much weaker than whole herb or something like that. I can swear andro doesn't work as well in tincture than in whole herb (I tried both, my bottle of andro is still full and I paid expensive for it). Whole herb andro works muuuch better. Cats claw though works as well in my opinion (both tincture and whole herb). I've used both for more than a year and can't tell the difference. Selma ------------------- > > Another thing is, you should get 'cut and sifted' or whole herbs rather than powdered. > The powdered herbs lose their potency quickly. You should grind the 'cut and sifted' or > whole herbs yourself right before macerating and I use a coffee grinder for this. The > grind consistency should be about that of coarsely ground cornmeal. If powdered herb > was used, the alcohol could not circulate properly amongst the particles to extract the > constituents. > > I bought a kitchen scale to weigh the herbs. Since I'm doing a 10- herb mixture, this was > necessary. If you are only using one or two herbs, you can fill the jar about half full > with herbs and then add fluid to fill to the top. You will need to keep topping because > the herbs will absorb the fluid. Store the maceration in a dark area for 3-6 weeks and > shake it every day. Mine has been sitting almost a month now. > > I seem to be getting well rapidly now after adding andrographis. > > Sheryl > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 I'm looking at a couple of other books right now but can't evaluate them yet. A woman on the other end of the phone at 1sthchineseherbs.com said that the main book they use there and are constantly consulting is " Handbook of Chinese Herbal Formulas. " I just got it today in the mail. Also, looking at earlier messages on this group, a woman recommended " The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook. You can look up her comments by typing in that title. I've reserved it at a local library and will pick it up tomorrow. If I like it, I'll buy it. I boil a little 'cut and sifted' eleuthero for a tea every morning and do not measure it. It seems to help with the energy level. Have not made a tincture with them but " Making Plant Medicine " says you can do a tincture with 50% alcohol : 50% water. It explains decoctions. I bought the book from horizonherbs.com. It provides mathematical equivalencies. People also like " Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook. " I haven't tried out my 10-herb recipe yet. I'm trying to copy a commercial formula. Perhaps best to wait to make sure it isn't harmful. Sheryl > > Thanks for posting, smackie, just what i wanted to know! I was planning to buy some books about this. any others you recommend? Is your one title enough? > > What 10 herbs are you blending? What's your recipe? what is it for? > > I 've had a bag of eleuthero chunks for a year; didn't know what to do with them. Can i boil them to make a decoction? How long do i cook them? Is a decoction effective and potent? What ration, what strentght, how much decoction equals how many milligrams of a pill? Does your book explain decoctions too? > > Pertinent topic! > from purple > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 You might want to check http://www.1stchineseherbs.com/podcast.html for dosage information. > > Hi Sheryl, > > Thanks so much for these tips on making your own remedies/tinctures. I'm > going to order the herbs soon and get started. > > Donna > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 > Obviously using 40% alcohol when 70% is recommended is not going to cut > it. Is there a way around this? What do others do? Let the tincture macerate longer (2+ months as opposed to one), and shake the bottle every day. Scienctists like to make rules about plant chemistry and such, but the plants will do what they need to do. As an herbalist, I usually use 40% alcohol, and have had very good results - even with the harder, denser roots. Somerville, MA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.