fruitblossomConcoctions


Many medicinal preparations have been wasted or spoiled simply because the user did not prepare them or use them to best advantage. This naturally discourages many people from trying herbs again. Since most herbs are mild in action, it is important that they be given sufficient time to work. Certain herbs must be prepared right and administered correctly in order to derive any benefits from them.

There are some terms you need to know to better understand how to prepare and use herbs. These terms are: decoction, infusion, maceration, comminution, extraction, percolation, filtration, clarification, digestion, and expression.

eyebrightComminution is the reduction of herbs to small particles. All substances to be used this way must be free from all moisture. Herbs containing volatile oils should not be subjected to high temperatures during the drying process.

The first operation in the drying of herbs is to cut them up in to small parts when fresh. Some herbs need to be dried at the lowest temperatures possible. Others should be dried quickly. No special drying equipment is needed. Just follow the method I give below.

1. Select and collect the herbs you desire. Collect on a dry day.

2. Tie the herbs in small bundles, in twos, so that the piece of string joins the bundles. Hang the bundles over a clothes line, by this string. Note: It is important that at night and/or whenever the weather gets damp, you hang the bundles inside to dry. If the herbs get damp during the drying process they will mildew.

If you are collecting only leaves or flowers from a plant, then put them in a muslin bag to dry. Not too many in each bag, otherwise the air will not get through to all the pieces. Generally herbs will take from three days to a week to dry. It is important that they are dry. Move the bundles around each day do that they get a lot of sun. If there is no sun and you have them indoors, keep them at a uniform temperature of about 65 degrees to 70 degrees fahrenheit.

3. When the bundles are dry, pass the herbs through a meat mincer/grinder or use a pestle and mortar. Use coarse cutters at first, followed by finer ones. If properly dried, the herbs should come out in more or less powder form. Put them in cans or bottles with screw tops and keep in the dark. They may be kept this way for several years without losing their natural color or medicinal properties.


indiantobaccoExtractionis the chief method used in the extraction of the active principles of herbs.

Some extraction methods are:

(a) DECOCTION--applied when the active principles consist of extractive matter readily taken from the plant but not damaged by boiling water.

(b) INFUSION--applied to obtain the extracts by means of hot water, only in this case boiling water is not used. In fact, in some cases even cold water is utilized.

(c) MACERATION--this is a prolonged infusion using alcohol. It consists of steeping the material in a closed vessel for a definite period, shaking it at intervals. This method is used for the extraction of fluid extracts or tinctures.


catnipPercolation is the most perfect method of obtaining the soluble parts of remedies. It consists of allowing menstruum to slowly trickle through a column of material in a similar way to the process of coffee percolation.


Filtration is the process by which liquids are seperated from substance mechanically suspended in them. The easiest method is by using filter paper.


wildyamClarification is the process of clarifying a substance after processing, as in the case of honey, syrup, lards, etc., and is done by melting and skimming or filtering through a suitable material.


Digestion is a simple process of prolonged maceration, at a constant temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.


chamomileExpression is the method by which the juices of herbs are extracted by pressing them; actually squeezing the remedy out of them. Two pressures are normally used: a simple screw press, similar to a printer's press, or a hydraulic press as used in large laboratories.

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