The different parts of an herbal plant may have different actions or properties. For some herbs, only one part of the plant is used, and there are a even some herbs for which some parts are ineffective or even poisonous. So it's terribly important to know how the herb you intend to work with is traditionally used and administered (especially if purchased in bulk), for which you need two or three good herbals. Following are the descriptions of the most common herbal preparation methods. Herbal Preparation Methods for Herbs To Be Taken InternallyInfusionThe herbal preparation known as infusion is basically a medicinal tea. It's prepared in exactly the same way you'd prepare any tea for yourself: pour some boiling water over the suggested amount of herb and let steep, usually for 15 - 20 minutes. This preparation is typical for the more fragile parts of herbal plants, such as flowers and leaves. As a rule, one ounce of herbal material is used for one pint of water. Decoction A decoction is similar to a tea, but it's used for sturdier, more fibrous parts of a plant, roots or bark which require more heat to extract their ingredients. A decoction is made by simmering an ounce of plant material per pint for 15 - 45 minutes (the larger and harder, the more time needed -- powders don't take as long) and then allowing it to steep for an additional 2 - 3 minutes. This should be done in an enamel or non-metallic pan. I use pyrex or corningware. Powder You can buy powdered herbs in bulk, or you can take cut and sifted herbs in bulk and grind them either in a mortar and pestle (lots of work, even for dired leaves!) or a coffee grinder. I have a small electric coffee grinder I use only for grinding herbs. Inless you're adding the powdered herb to your meals (e.g., kelp, cayenne and other culinary herbs and spices which are also medicinal herbs), powdered herbs usually need an additional step for most methods of administration. Tincture Tinctures can taste pretty nasty, as a rule, especially compared to some other methods of herbal preparation, since they're made by soaking herbal material in alcohol over a period of weeks and then straining the herbal material out leaving the herb-flavored alcohol. But they have several advantages over other methods of administration: they are quick and easy to take from dropper bottles (and portable, too!), are absorbed quickly, have a longer shelf life than bulk herbs, can easily be combined with other tinctures to make a formula or to decoctions or infusions, and they're less work since alcohol plus the passage of time is what does the work. But it does take at least two weeks to make a tincture. The herbal preparation method for a tincture involves adding 1 to 4 ounces of powdered herb to 8 to 12 oz. alcohol (at least 80 proof, or preferrably even higher) in a jar with a tight lid. (Make sure the herb is covered with alcohol.) Place in a cupboard or other dark, cool place and shake thoroughly twice a day for 14 days. Many herbalists, myself included, may not quite get there to decant and straing after the first 14 days, and there's little harm in that, though the tincture's potency may be stronger. Strain through several layers of muslin or cheesecloth, and pour into dark bottles. Herbalist Humbart Santillosuggests sealing the bottle lids with wax if you intend to store the tincture for long periods. Always keep your tinctures -- and in fact all your herbs and herbal preparations -- in cool, dark places for longer shelf life. You can buy herbs already encapsulated from various manufacturers, or you can encapsulate your own. The best method for making your own is to buy an inexpensive manual encapsulater. There are three different sizes of empty capsules, which you can buy as gelatin or a vegan variety made of vegetable glycerin -- #0, #00, #000. Herbalist Humbart Santillo advises: "The average amount of herb in a #0 capsule is 400-450 mg. This varies with the density of the herb and whether the herb is a root or a leaf. The average amount in a #00 capsules is about 500-600 mg., and in a #000 is about 650-850 mg." But don't get hung up on the numbers. It's not that you shouldn't be concerned about proper dosage, but you'll not find any reference to them in most herbals. That thinking (milligrams for ultra-precise dosage) is more appropriate to the Western Medical Model which thinks and wants to treat (and regulate!) herbs as drugs, which they are not, remember? Herbal Preparation Methods for Herbs To Be Used ExternallyOilsHerbal oils are used externally, on the skin, for a variety of purposes, and are usually made from aromatic herbs. There are several different herbal preparation methods for oils, but the easiest herbal preparation for oils is to add one pint of olive, almond or linseed oil to two oz. of herbs in a glass ovenproof dish and bake at the lowest temperature your oven can achieve (115 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least one hour. You could also use a dehydrater which usually allows settings at 125 degrees or higher. You can add vitamin E (from a capsule you've pierced with the tip of a knife) to help preserve the oil, but when it goes rancid it should be discarded. Ointment or Salve The method of herbal preparation for ointments and salves is much like oils except they are made to be thicker than oil by either using a fat which is thicker than oil (lard, cocnut oil, etc.), and/or adding beeswax to help thicken the fat to a solid. The main difference between ointment and salve is that salves are usually slightler thicker than ointments. Preparation is relatively simple and involves mixing one part (for example, one ounce) powdered herb in four parts (four ounces in this example) oil, lard, coconut oil, or other fat and heating it to mix it thoroughly. Add beeswax as needed to get as firm a consistency as you want. This is tricky -- you can't tell while it's liquid, and if you add too much beeswax you'll have a much stiffer product than you want. And if you let it set to see the final thickness, you can't pour it out of the pan. Plasters are similar, but the wet powdered herb is applied to a natural fiber cloth (cotton) and applied to the skin with a dry cloth or plastic over the top to retain moisture. Other PreparationsOne of the reasons I strongly recommend everyone who is interested in trying herbs for themselves own at least two or three good herbals is that each will have slightly different information in it. While not usually contradictory to one another, the other information is usually elaborative.For example, among my three favorite herbals, here are some of the other methods of herbal preparation discussed by one but not necessarily by the other two: bolus (suppository), hydrotherapy (baths), douche, pills, smoking, enema, electuary (syrup), herbal wines, cold extract, essence, juice, gargles, concentrate. DosageGood herbals will include recommended preparation methods for the part(s) of the herb used, along with suggestions for standard dosages for each herb discussed. These are longstanding, commonly accepted guidelines from, for some herbs, millennia of use.Again, the reason I recommend everyone own two to three really good herbals is to take full advantage of the collective experience and knowledge of several different herbalists since each will sometimes offer different information, or offer the same information in different ways.
|
