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By Root 839 0

such as albuminous matter (plant protein), plant starches, gums, and mucilaginous materials. This is sometimes referred to as alcohol’s “negative strength.” These plant components (which often refuse to be filtered out in certain solutions) when present in a solution will sometimes act as unsightly (opalescent, cloudy, gummy, jelly-like, ropy, or syrupy) solution disturbers as well as provide food for microbes.

Mix an appropriate amount of alcohol into an existing extract being “disturbed” by these components, and they will be thrown back out of the solution. They can then be removed, leaving the extract looking far more attractive. To illustrate this banishment of an offending component (in this instance slimy mucilage by alcohol) from an herbal solution, make a strong water infusion of Comfrey root, and when it is cool, pour some into a small container, add to it a substantial quantity of pure 190-proof ethyl alcohol, and therein you will behold the outcast. Add more water to this, thereby diluting the alcohol, and the mucilage will dissolve back into solution.

For those individuals who are concerned about the presence of alcohol in an herbal preparation, the following calculations based on a tincture containing 60 percent alcohol (most tinctures contain less) are given for your guidance:

• A daily nutritional dosage: For adults, 20 drops 3 times a day equals about 1/30th of an ounce of alcohol spread over 24 hours.

• An acute dosage: For adults, 20 drops per hour for approximately 12 hours equals about 1/7th of an ounce of alcohol spread over the day.

Children are usually given 1/2 to 1/4 of this adult dosage.

Often, however, the mucilaginous component of an herb is exactly what one wants to draw into solution. This is true in preparations of some of our most nourishing and therapeutic plants such as Comfrey, Marshmallow, Slippery Elm, and Cinnamon. But if one wishes to preserve an extract of these mucilaginous plants for any length of time, be well advised to use some alcohol as either a part of the extracting menstruum or as a later addition. Eighteen to 20 percent ethyl alcohol will be adequate, and usually this is not a sufficient amount to cause an eviction of the above-mentioned components.

Safe Storage of Ethyl Alcohol

• Keep alcohol packaged in bottles out of the sun and away from heat. I prefer to use high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bottles; glass bottles full of liquid heat up faster and break too easily, and in this instance, are a most costly break.

• Keep container tightly closed to prevent leakage and evaporation.

• The boiling point of pure ethyl alcohol is 173° F.

• Be aware that alcohol containers can be hazardous when empty, for they retain residual vapor that is extremely flammable. Allow recently emptied containers to sit outdoors with the lid removed, so the contents will evaporate and dissipate completely.

• Alcohol is a flammable liquid.

• Spills: If a spill has not ignited use water spray to disperse the vapors and to dilute the spill to a nonflammable mixture.

• Fire-fighting procedure: Use dry chemical or carbon dioxide. Water may be ineffective, but should be used to keep the fire-exposed containers cool.

• Avoid prolonged inhalation of vapor.

ALCOHOL-WATER

Alcohol-water mixtures possess few, if any, of the disadvantages exhibited by water alone in the extraction and preservation of plant components. The blending of alcohol with water seems to be a consummate marriage for both extraction maneuvers in the lab and social merriment in the recreational arena. Some plant constituents are nearly as soluble in an alcohol-water menstruum as they are in strong alcohol, and in some cases the alcohol content of the menstruum can be as low as 25 percent. I recommend you strive for maximum extraction using a minimum percent of alcohol, keeping in mind that 15 to 20 percent alcohol by volume—of the end product—is probably the lowest alcohol content you can contrive that will preserve the extract for any length of time.

In pharmacy a mixture of 50 percent ethyl