Make an herbal tincture
Learning how to make an herbal tincture at home starts with understanding why alcohol is the right solvent for this preparation. For a deeper understanding of why extraction method matters, start here.
There are several reasons to use a water-alcohol extract, such as a tincture.
- All of the constituents will be extracted – both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble.
- Alcohol is a preservative and will extend the shelf life of an extract – even an alcohol content of as little as 20% is effective.
- The process used to make tinctures will concentrate the medicinal properties in a smaller volume of liquid.
The solvent selected, in this case, alcohol, must be capable of penetrating the tissues of the herb and dissolving the constituents. This liquid is called the menstruum.
The plant material that remains after the menstruum has done its work and been removed is called the marc.
Water – to – Alcohol Proportions
Professionally prepared tinctures are made using specific water-to-alcohol proportions for each herb. At home, it isn’t necessary to adhere to these guidelines religiously but it is helpful to recognize them in recipes.
A water-alcohol mentruum can extract a larger proportion of active principles of most plants than can water alone, but at the same time contains sufficient alcohol to prevent decomposition.
The strength to be used depends on the chemical nature of the constituents to be extracted, as well as the physical density of the plant part being extracted.
Plant Material
The concentration or strength of any extract is defined by the amount of plant material used. Herbal recipes will provide the measure of plant material in ratios such as 1:4 or 1:5, and sometimes 1:3, 1:8, and 1:10. In these examples, the first number represents the weight of the plant material and the second represents the volume of menstruum: it is expressed as a ratio of weight to volume (w:v).
Before selecting your plant material, make sure you’ve evaluated it for safety.
Alcohol Proof
Alcohol can be used in concentrations of 45%, 60%, 70% and 90%. 70% alcohol describes a solution made up of 70 parts of 95% alcohol and 30 parts water.
An 80 proof alcohol contains 40% alcohol and 60% water; to easily calculate the alcohol content of any liquor, simply divide the proof by two. The remaining content is water. 190 proof alcohol is 95% alcohol and 5% water. To use a high-proof alcohol in a recipe that calls for a lower proof, dilution with distilled or highly filtered water is required.
If you need a menstruum with 60% alcohol percentage and your high-proof alcohol is at 95%, the menstruum requires roughly 35% water added for dilution. In a recipe that calls for 8 oz of 60% alcohol, this is the math:
- 100% = 8oz
- 35% water = 2.8 oz
- 60% alcohol = 5.2%
- The remaining 5% water = the alcohol already contains 5% water
It is highly recommended to acquire a kitchen scale that measures in grams, ounces, and other units. To accurately follow an herbal medicine recipe that specifies both weight and volume measurements, a scale is necessary.
In practice
The recipe included here is a relatively standard 1:5 ratio in 60% alcohol. I am not specifying which plant material, as this is an example recipe.