Making Herbal Tinctures

Why Tinctures?

There are several good reasons for preparing and using your own herbal tinctures.

First of all, the volatile oils, alkaloids and resins in many plants are generally insoluble in water, so the effect of those constituents will be missing in infusions (teas), or decoctions (boiled preparations).

(Note: This isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes there are constituents of plants that we do not want to consume, so the tinctures of some plants may not be safe while the teas are. It's always best to check a reliable source - such as one of the books in my "Excellent Books" section first to make sure that the tincture is an acceptable form. If, for example, dosages for the tea are listed, but there is no listing for the tincture, it's better to play it safe and use the tea only.)

Back to reasons for using tinctures ....

Tinctures are easy to prepare and they can generally be used for a period of up to two years. This makes them valuable if you have a "crop failure" of one of your favourite herbs in any given year. By contrast, I choose not to use dried herbs from a preceding year once the new crop is ready for use.

Tinctures are more powerful, so the same amount of "medicinal power" can be stored in a smaller container. Dosages generally are in the order of 5 to 40 drops, so a small bottle can last quite a long time.

Preparing Tinctures

It's possible to get specific directions for the preparation of each tincture, but, for home use, the following will work well almost all the time.
  1. Choose an base that is at least 30% alcohol (preferably 40%). While vodka is often used, there is nothing in the rules to say that you can't use something a little more palatable, since the flavours of some tinctures can be truly disgusting. My personal preference is brandy.
  2. Check with a good reference book to see which parts of the plant are used to make the tincture (leaves, flowers, root?) Generally the plant parts used will be the same as those used for teas. Clean the required plant parts and select the best quality material available. Put it into a glass jar or other container with a tight fitting lid. The amount of plant material varies, and you might want to check a reference again for this. If not, just remember that the more plant you put in, the stronger the tincture will be when it is used medicinally. (This is why it's better to muscle test for the correct dosage rather than read it off standard charts - there is just too much variation in the plants used and the individuals they are given to.)
  3. Fill the container with the alcohol you've selected.
  4. Put the container somewhere where it's not going to be affected by light and shake it vigorously twice a day for two weeks.
  5. At the end of two weeks (or longer if you wish) run the contents of the jar through a clean press or filter. Store the tincture in a tightly sealed glass container, in a dark place. It's ready for use immediately.
Note: If you're planning on making tincture mixtures, it's better to prepare separate batches of tincture for each herb and then mix them as required. Remember: just because a herb is reputed to be good for a certain condition, doesn't mean that it will be good for a specific individual with that condition. Again, it's preferable to use muscle testing to determine the specific formulations to be used.

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