WHAT ARE HERBAL TINCTURES?

Herbal tinctures are concentrated herbal extracts made by soaking either fresh or dried, bark, berries, leaves, flowers, or roots from one or more plants in a liquid combination of alcohol and water.

This liquid solvent is called the menstruum. The alcohol pulls out or extracts the active and therapeutic properties for the plants, the alkaloids, the vitamins, and minerals.

After the extraction process, the concentrated liquid is separated from the herbs and is filtered out. The used plant parts are composted. And the concentrated liquid that remains is now called a tincture.
Alcohol acts as an excellent solvent for many phytochemicals, especially those with limited solubility in water. It is also an excellent preservative so that tinctures can keep several years.

Like other extracts, tinctures bypass the need to digest whole herbs in the gut and are easily absorbed, giving them an advantage over taking pills or capsules.

WHY PLANTS IN TINCTURES

Alcohol has been used as a solvent in herbal tinctures for centuries. It remains popular today for its fast-acting properties, its potency, and its ability to preserve the shelf-life of tinctures. Given that only a very small amount of alcohol is consumed when we use herbal tincture, it remains a very safe and effective way of delivering our favourite herbal remedies.

Disclaimer This information is NOT intended to assess, diagnose, prescribe, or promise cure. Its intent is to be purely educational; if suffering serious illness, please contact a professional healthcare provider.