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Hey all (and Doc)
Ok so I learned many years ago as a young herbalist to make tinctures using fresh plant material and did that fir many years. More recently and after starting this course esp. I have moved to using dried and freeze dried plant material. BUT just recently I have again been told how very important it is to use fresh material, at least for most/many plants.
Obviously there is some nuance to this decision but please share your reasoning for one or the other. Thanks so much.
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Alans, I have a similar question. I am a new student and haven’t made a tincture yet. I have fresh cleavers in my garden and was wondering how best to preserve it. Should I make a tincture with the fresh plants or dry them and which solvent would be best? this question is probably answered in the course but I haven’t gotten there yet and I hate to pass up the opportunity to preserve the cleavers.
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If you’re searching for the lesson, it’s in the Herbal Medicine Making module, Lesson #4. It’s a 35 minute watch, but if you’re anything like me, you’ve already spent way more than that looking lol. Seems there are as many opinions as there are herbalists. I know I’ve heard Doc say several times that he usually presses his tinctures the day he needs the jar for something else. I am of the school that shakes the first 2-4 weeks, then I leave it alone/forget it in the cupboard. If I recall what Doc said in the module (don’t count on me…brain damage), he said you can leave the plant material in there until you need/decide to press, and it will only get more potent. The alcohol will preserve, so there won’t be molding or anything. Enjoy your Cleavers!
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I have monographs that suggest fresh as best in some cases and fresh is “more toxic” in other cases. i.e. American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) is more potent according to some herbalists because it retains more volatile oils but dried is fine too. I believe the same is said about fresh St John’s wort and Chickweed. The only “better dried” example I can think of right now is that Elderberry contains less cyanogenic glycosides when dried so that is the preferred state for medicinal preperations (or cooking it out if not dried); however, people eat the ripe berries all the time. And American Angelica root is said to be more toxic when fresh. For this reason, I tend to think of delicatesor aromatic herbs as better fresh (volatile oils) and roots a better sliced and dried … but, I’m a student trying to put it all together too 🙂 Oh, and I believe Doc said Plantain is best fresh and suggested keeping some in the freezer for off season.
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We can make things very complicated. Honestly, I tincture almost everything dry and the herbs and formulas seem to work great. Have a look at this lesson. I talk about tinctures starting at slide 26.
Making Herbal Medicines: Lesson 1 – Introduction and General Principles
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Many of the “knowledgeable” folk strongly recommend either fresh or dried herb for various tinctures such as in the case of Prickly Lettice. This does make it challenging as to the best route to go. I hope this training material will help with such decision making.
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I have come across the same thing in a lot of my own research. Fresh or dried … that is the question, and it seems the answer is “it depends”. I am hoping this course will really help in making those decisions when making a tincture, as I just don’t need complicated. But I can see where it can becomes that very quickly!! Looking forward to this training!
Linda
"One can get in a car and see what man has made. One must get on a horse to see what God has made ...." - Anonymous
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Plants and food begin to lose their medicinal and nutritional properties as soon as they are harvested. I am tending more towards freshest in my tinctures. I let them desiccate for for a day for leaves and other light plant parts, or a few days for really wet things like most roots. I then tincture them up.
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