Herbal Studies – Part 4 Further Study

EXPERIMENT NUMBER ONE  - Do on your own

Choose one plant and make several small tinctures of it using different types of alcohol. Taste and smell each tincture every week or so for 6-8 weeks.

EXPERIMENT NUMBER TWO  - Continue on your own

Buy or make different tinctures of the same plant: dried herb, fresh herb, timed with the moon, in different menstrums, made by different people, harvested in different places. Can you taste differences? Are the effects different? What else do you notice?

EXPERIMENT NUMBER THREE  - Continue on your own

Make a double or triple tincture of motherwort, skullcap, or lemon balm. See if it relieves anxiety, hyperactivity, emotional distress, headaches. I use a dose of 5-30 drops. Remember skullcap can induce sleepiness.

 

FURTHER STUDY

  1. What is osmosis?

 

Why does 100 proof vodka make stronger tinctures than 80 proof?

 

  1. What is a menstrum?

 

What other menstrums are used to make tinctures?

 

  1. Of the four plant poisons, which are present in each of plants used in the medicine chest?

Herb

Alkaloid

Glycoside

Essential Oil

Resin

St. John’s Wort

 

 

 

 

Motherwort

 

 

 

 

Lemon Balm

 

 

 

 

Skullcap

 

 

 

 

Wormwood

 

 

 

 

Yarrow

 

 

 

 

Echinacea

 

 

 

 

Ginseng

 

 

 

 

Dandelion

 

 

 

 

Poke

 

 

 

 
  1. Why don't I consider vinegars tinctures?

 

 

  1. How is a glyceride different from a tincture?

 

 

ADVANCED WORK