Guest guest Posted October 26, 2002 Report Share Posted October 26, 2002 Since there has some talk off and on about alcohol vs apple cider vinegar i thought i would go searching.... i hope this helps everyone Tinctures are either alcohol, glycerin, vinegar or wine based, (note: Chinese wine is often used as a rocket fuel) Herbs, raw or dried, are put into a container covered and allowed to mature while the available compounds of the herbs are extracted. To speed this process and dependent upon the intent of the herbs the HappyHerbalist Pharmacy employs a vacuum process, low heat, high pressure which also greatly improves efficiency of extraction. Alcohol Tinctures to get alkaloids If you want an alkaloid (generally ends in -ine as in caffeine, nicotine, hesperidine, etc.), alcohol is superior. To dissipate the alcohol in an alcohol tincture, bring a pot of water to a rapid boil and drop in a few drops of the alcohol tincture – or add 1 part water to 1 part alcohol tincture, and microwave till the alcohol evaporates and presto the tincture is water based. Water-based tinctures spoil rapidly. Therefore use immediately or a relatively short time. Water or Vinegar Tinctures for its mineral-rich properties herbs like nettle, dandelion leaves, burdock root are better extracted in water or vinegar – Kombucha is a nice healthy alternative to commercial pasteurized vinegars. Although we don’t think about it Water will dissolve most things. For herbs with water-soluble constituents they can get more herb and nutrients into you. Vinegar offers medicinal properties of its own. Notably TCM uses it to break stagnation and move the blood. Aids digestion, reduces toxins, relieves damp conditions (edema, overweight, etc) removes parasites and worms. Contra-indicated for deficient conditions. (loose stools) TCM Excess Conditions. Sour, Bitter and Warm, and relatively milder than alcohol – considered hot in TCM. Early Romans drank Ox-Mel a combination of vinegar and honey. But maybe that was just because they got their vinegar from sour wine and their suppliers told them to just throw some honey in! To obtain the Polysaccharides of herbs First Decoct the Herbs by boiling in Water then add to a combination of Glycerine and Alcohol to finish the extraction Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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