How To Make an Herbal Tincture

Several weeks ago I shared what we were doing for Dan’s hand to support healing. One of those things is an herbal formula called Bone, Flesh, & Cartilage. It was originally developed by Dr. John Christopher, and we found the recipe in a video series by one of his students. Dan has been using a strong tea of the BF&C ingredients directly on his fingers as a fomentation, and also taking it in tincture form orally. The other day I made a batch and thought you might be interested in how I make an herbal tincture.

A tincture is extract of herbs in alcohol. It’s advantage is the alcohol acts as a preservative so that it stores for indefinite lengths of time. Teas must be used immediately or they will eventually grow mold and have to be discarded.

The ingredients for this particular tincture are equal parts by weight of white oak bark, marshmallow root, mullein leaf, wormwood, lobelia, scullcap, comfrey root, black walnut bark, and gravel root.

Herbs come as cut and sifted, whole, or powdered. I like using cut and sifted herbs for teas, because it’s hard to strain out powdered herbs with an ordinary tea strainer. I like using powdered herbs for tinctures, however. The theory is that the more surface of the herb is exposed, the more medicinal components can be extracted.

Cut and sifted and powdered (C/S) herbs can be mixed however. The general rule is to use half the amount of powdered as C/S.

I find this pretty much holds true weight wise. It takes half the volume of a powdered herb to weigh the same as C/S. I will say that C/S herbs make a prettier tincture, i.e. clearer. Powders tend to make the tincture a little more opaque.

I use vodka for my alcohol base.

The cheap kind works just as good as the expensive stuff. Some people dilute the vodka with water. Some recipes call for vinegar instead of water. Vinegar is especially helpful to extract specific medicinal components which can’t be extracted in water, such as the alkaloids in lobelia and golden seal.
 
Different people recommend different ratios of herbs to alcohol. I was taught that when the herbs settle, the amount of liquid on the surface should be 25% of the total amount.

The above mixture measures 5 inches, so I’m aiming for the liquid layer to be about an inch and a quarter. This makes a strong tincture with doses measured in dropperfuls.

Put in a dark cool place and shake the jar often. It should sit for a minimum of two weeks. Longer is better.

When it’s needed, the tincture is pressed. This gets every last drop out of the herbs. I put the unstrained tincture into a jelly bag and then use a wine press. It has a spout to drain off the liquid through a hose into a bottle,

but I just set up mine to drain directly into any handy container (stainless steel, glass, or ceramic.)

Pour into bottles and store in a cool, dark place. I especially like the brown bottles for storing tinctures.

Doses are by eyedropper.

One dropperful is about 1/4 teaspoon. It can be mixed with water or juice, of for those who don’t drink alcohol, it can be mixed in one cup of boiling water to evaporate the alcohol. Drink the same as tea.

A typical dose might be one dropperful three times per day. That can be adjusted according to results, but results will vary depending on the strength of the tincture. If you take the herbs as tea too, you can give whatever ails you a double-whammy. Dan is taking one teaspoonful (4 droppers) of BF&C three times a day.
 
Tinctures can also be made from individual herbs which can be mixed as desired. In fact, this is the best way to make your own custom blends. Of course you need to know your herbs, their medicinal properties, and uses. And double of course you need to get permission from your health care professional before using herbs, etc., etc., (insert usual disclaimers here), etc., etc.