Re: Glycerin vs Alcohol

Its always a good idea to research the herb you are about to work with as some should (ideally) not be extracted with water/glycerine and some should not (ideally) be extracted with alcohol.

A good example is gravel root. High heat is not to be used with this herb, so cooking it on a stove in water to extract its unique properties will result in a less than ideal end product. So cold extraction with alcohol will be significanly faster and more powerful, or you can just use a water/glycerine cold extraction, but it will take longer to break down this tough root using water/glycerine since it does not have the penetrating power of alcohol.

On the flip side, the herb Chanca Piedra is often sold by people who have used alcohol to extract its properties, but the traditional method of extraction used by rainforest shamans and other indigenous peoples is the use of water, either boiling or cold extraction over longer periods of time. In the case of this herb, alcohol will actually damage the phytochemicals in the herb that give it some of its unique abilities. Although the indigenous peoples have use of an alcohol based extraction method (using sugar cane, I believe) they choose to use water, since it has proven to be better at maintaining the integrity of the plant source.

Another example is marshmallow root, which "can" be extracted in alcohol or water, but the mucilage that the marshmallow root is used for will break down in alcohol, since alcohol will alter the starch molecule, and then it does not work very well. Since the mucilage in the marshmallow root is used for coating selected interior areas of the body (bladder walls for cystitis, nephrons and tubules in kidneys), using an alcohol extraction for this will "short circuit" the end result you are looking for, that unique slippery, slimy coating that marshmallow root is famed for.

Also, marshmallow root is an amazing protectant to the body for people undergoing chemotherapy, using it is like having a force field inside you, protecting the cells from permanent harm. I have seen this used for exactly this purpose and the patients face lit up like a fat chick in front of a birthday cake when they didn't get as sick as their counterparts.

Who knew?


And THAT is all.

TheADONIS


P.S. I just re-read my post and I'm awesome. Tweet