Why Do We Use Alcohol in our Herbal Blends?
In order to provide the highest quality, most effective whole plant medicine, the agent used for the extraction of the medicinal properties must be able to dissolve the maximum number of biologically active substances possible, and in the ratio naturally occurring in the plant.  Many ingredients present in the plant, such as tannins, gums and mucilage, are water soluble and can be effectively extracted in tea form.  Some substances, such as glycosides and bitters, are only partially water soluble.  Other constituents, such as alkaloids, volatile oils and resins, are not water soluble at all.  Volatile oils and resins can only be extracted with a solvent such as trichloromethane, petroleum ether or grain alcohol.  Alcohol is the only ingestible one of these three, which makes it the only appropriate substance to use in medicinal extracts.

In the production of quality tinctures, a mixture of grain alcohol and distilled water is used so that all the biologically active compounds in the plant are extracted completely.  The percentage of alcohol required is carefully calculated according to the percentage of water-insoluble and partially insoluble ingredients.  For example, plants high in alkaloids or volatile oils will require a higher percentage of alcohol than plants high in mucilage or tannins.  Alcohol concentrations of 20% to 80% are customarily used, with the range of 35% to 60% being the most common.

Alcohol is an excellent carrier of plant constituents into the body, increasing absorption rate and therefore speeding the action of the herbal medicine.  Alcohol is one of the few substances that is absorbed directly through the stomach lining.  Alcohol extracts are the most effective and fastest means to deliver the benefit of herbs to the body.

Alcohol also serves as a natural preservative for fresh plant medicines, allowing them to be stored and used with full potency for years.

For those concerned about products containing alcohol:  a standard herbal tincture extracted with 50% alcohol, taken at a common dosage of 30 drops 3 times a day, contains less than 1/20 of an ounce of alcohol spread out over a day, an amount tolerable to most adults and children alike.  Persons who are highly reactive to alcohol in any form or who are recovering alcoholics may prefer an alternative method.