Preparing DIY Herbal Remedies Safely and Inexpensively (2)

After you have procured your herbs, determining the best way to extract the active components is very important. 

Below are tips to help you determine the best preparation method.

1) Sort by the part of plant. You will have roots, barks, flowers, stems, seeds, leaves, whole plants.

2) Sort by the conditions or states; whether fresh or dry, soft, hard, delicate, volatile, powder

3) Sort by size, thickness or bulkiness.

You will have to consider these points so that you can extract the active ingredients you need properly. Herbs that are soft, delicate or with volatile components should be cooked for a short time e.g scent leaves, basil leaves so that their components are not lost by heat. We now start with the Herbal Preparations.

Infusions

Infusions are preparations like tea and the preferred method for delicate herbs, leaf herbs and fresh tender plants. Infusing an herb is almost exactly like preparing tea.

Preparation Method
Boil water
Pour the water over the herb or herb mixture.
Cover and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes.
Stir the herbs and water every few minutes.
Generally 6-8 oz. of water to 1teaspoon of chopped or powdered herb is used. Increase to 2 teaspoons if the herbs are bulky.

Decoction

A decoction is the preferred method for roots, barks, tough and fibrous plant materials.

Preparation Method
Use the same ratio of water to herb as above, add cold water to herbs in a pot and leave for 30 minutes before cooking.
Bring the mixture to boiling.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat.
Allow the herbal mixture to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.

For tougher bark, boiling time can be increased until the wood is soft. You can also boil the mixture can be boiled for a shorter time and leave to soak over night.

Tinctures.

Tinctures are liquid Extracts of herbs prepared by steeping the herbs in an alcoholic drink to create a more concentrated dose of medicine. Vodka, whisky, gin, brandy or rum are the typical choices.

Preparation Method

Place some fresh or dried herbs  placed in a glass jar/bottle with a lid.
Pour in the alcohol until it rises two to three inches above the herbs.

If you are using bulky herbs, roots or barks, be sure to chop them into smaller pieces.
The mixture is stored for a specified period and should be shaken every few days to keep the herbs from settling into a clump at the bottom.

We will continue. Read the next post.