Herbal Tincture are concentrated fluid plant extracts obtained by maceration/infusion.
Herbal tinctures, or Tinctures in short, are plant preparations obtained by maceration /infusion of plants or part of plants, like flowers, leaves, fruits, barks, roots, resin…, in a liquid mixture made of a solvent and water (technically called a menstruum), to extract and preserve the plant concentrated active properties for longer.
-When the plants (or part of plants) are macerated in a mixture of alcohol (as solvent) and water, the resulting extract is called a Tincture.
-When the plants are macerated in Vegetable glycerine (as solvent) and water, the resulting extract is called an Hydroglycerin extract.
All our tinctures (Mother Tinctures) are manufactured according to the HAB 4A German procedure as specified in the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (GHP).
Our Hydroglycerin extracts are produced following a modified version of the same HAB4A GHP process.
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Mother tinctures are 100% pure natural herbal extracts.
Tinctures are prepared according to the methods outlined in the German Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia, by submerging entire plant or their parts in a mixture of ethanol (from sugar cane) and water (menstruum) and letting them macerate/infuse for several weeks/months.
After filtration to remove plant material, the final product is a mixture of Alcohol and water charged with the plant’s properties called a Mother Tincture.
Our tinctures or ethanol extracts are prepared from dry plant material according to method HAB 4a and most have a final Alcohol volume of 62%.
Mother tinctures dissolve completely in water and only mildly in oils
The Hydro-alcoholic menstruum used can extract all the active molecules of the plants including Phytosterols, flavonoids, tannins, pigments, aromatic compounds, and alkaloids...
The ethanol used for our extract is natural and plant based (sugar cane)
Mother Tincture Uses and Applications:
Mother tinctures can be taken orally and included in a variety of formulations.
- Easily added to creams, gels and other topicals base products, for well-being formulas as well as in natural cosmetics
- In food preparations, may be added to your syrups and other milk, yogurts, smoothies, juices…for flavouring or wellbeing support
You may prefer Tinctures for the following advantages
- Mother tinctures are absorbed faster by the body
- Tinctures are a more complete extraction of the plant properties
- Ethanol based tinctures have strong bactericidal properties and are naturally effective against viruses and fungi.
- Ethanol-based tinctures are self-preserved and self-sterilised. The products you may choose to add them into will benefit from those properties.
Disadvantages
- Tinctures have a strong taste that may take time to get used to. They are often added to juices or to sweetened tea or food. unpleasant taste and may not be well tolerated by young children.
- Due to the ethanol content*, products containing mother tinctures are not recommended for young children and may not be suitable for cultural, traditional, and alcohol-free choices.
*The Ethanol is obtained from cane sugar like Rhum or cane spirits.
WARNING: 62% ethanol is flammable. Do not to expose tinctures to open flames or sparks.
What are Hydroglycerin Extracts?
Hydroglycerin extracts also called or Hydro-glycerol extracts, or sometimes simply Glycerites are 100% pure natural herbal products.
Glycerine is another of the solvents that has been used traditionally to extract and preserve the properties of Plants.
Glycerine plant extracts are prepared by submerging entire plant or their parts in a mixture of glycerine and water (menstruum) and letting them macerate/infuse for several weeks/months.
After filtration to remove plant material, the final product is a mixture of glycerine and water charged with the plant’s properties with a wide variety of applications.
Hydroglycerin are Hydrophiles extracts (attracted to and dissolved by water)
The Hydro-glycerine menstruum can extract the polysaccharides, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, anthocyanins (red, purple, blue, or black) pigments, and the vitamin C contained naturally in the plant’s molecules.
However, Hydroglycerin menstruum does not extract all the plant molecules, only the ones that can be dissolved in water. Contrary to the alcohol-based Tinctures who are more complete extractions (including aromatic compounds etc….)
The glycerine that is used for our extracts comes exclusively from plant sources (Glycerol).
Hydroglycerin/ Glycerine Extract uses and applications:
Hydroglycerin extracts are soluble in water and water-based products. Hydroglycerin extracts can be taken orally and included in a variety of formulations:
- Easily added to creams, gels and other topicals base products, for well-being formulas as well as in natural cosmetics
- In food preparations, may be added to syrups, drinks, and other suspensions Added to your syrups and other milk, yogurts, smoothies, juices…for flavouring or wellbeing support
You may prefer Hydroglycerin Plant extracts for the following reasons:
- Hydroglycerin extracts are ALCOHOL-FREE: Being alcohol free, Hydroglycerin extracts are the preferred plant extract for children and are suitable for cultural, traditional, and alcohol-free choices.
- Hydroglycerin extracts are SWEETER TASTING: Being glycerol based, they are softer to the palate and sweeter tasting than ethanol-based (Mother tinctures) plant extracts.