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Everything Herbal - Main Page - PS-Survival.com

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Specific Vitamins, Herbs, Medications<br />

Synergy <strong>com</strong>bination of individual <strong>com</strong>ponents means<br />

1+1 = 3 or 4 or 5 not 2<br />

How do I make valerian extract from fresh grated root? Would refluxing the root in strong ethanol work?<br />

ANSWER: Extracting Fresh Herbs is more difficult than most believe.<br />

You need to know what concentration of water is in the fresh plant and what percentage of final alcohol you want in the<br />

product<br />

Normally you want the alcohol in Valerian Extract Products fairly high, 55-65%<br />

.<br />

Using Ethyl Alcohol which is 5% water and 95% alcohol is best.<br />

You also need to know what concentration you are extracting too, normally fresh plants are extracted to a 1:2 ratio<br />

(grams to milliters)<br />

Here is an example<br />

Suppose you have 1 pound of Valerian Root converting this to grams you have 454 times 1 equals 454 grams.<br />

Starting with 454 grams in a 1:2 ratio your product would theoretically be 908 milliters of extract (actually yields can<br />

have a loss of 25%, which is liquid still held in the marc aftering pressing)<br />

Assuming you want a 55% alcohol final product .55 times 908 equals 528 mls of alcohol but Ethyl Alcohol is 5% water.<br />

So you need 528/.95 = 556 mils of grain alcohol from the bottle<br />

Now you need to calculate the number of mils of distilled water to be added.<br />

The fresh root already has some amount of water in it, probably 80% water so of the 454 grams of Valerian root .8<br />

times 454 equals 363 mils of water (assuming 1:1 density of water)<br />

If the final product is suppose to be 908 mils and we know we have 28 mils of water <strong>com</strong>ing from the Ethyl alcohol<br />

(556-528) and we have 363 mils of water <strong>com</strong>ing from the fresh plant and we are using 528 mils alcohol then we don't<br />

need to add any mils of distilled water ( because 908 minus 528 minus 28 minus 363 equals negative 11). We can't<br />

add a negative number. But we will assume some water loss between harvesting the roots, garbling (cleaning<br />

anything out that is not Valerian Root), washing and drying them previous to adding the menstrum (water and alcohol<br />

preparation) we will forget the negative 11 mils of water.<br />

So here is what we have to mix<br />

1 pound Valerian Root<br />

556 mils grain alcohol from bottle<br />

I would add everything to a blender and mash until the root is liquified. Let the whole thing set for 4-8 weeks or longer<br />

then strain off the solids and/or press out the marc. The marc is what is left after the liquid is drained off. The liquid<br />

recovered is extract of Valerian.<br />

If you do not want to go through this process we sell extracts of valerian root prebottled with dropper and directions for<br />

use.<br />

HORNY GOAT WEED<br />

QUESTION: Hi, is there herb extract called Horny Goat Weed, if so, what is it used<br />

for?<br />

ANSWER: Yes, there is an herb with this <strong>com</strong>mon name.<br />

Here is what I can tell you about this plant<br />

Chinese Pin Yin English named: Yin yan huo<br />

Common Name: “lustful sheep plant” or “stinking lascivious goat plant”<br />

Latin Name: Epimidium macranthum or E. grandiflorium<br />

It has been used for Male Impotence, lowserm count and/or motility, frequent urination, pre-ejactulation, low back pain,<br />

pain in knees, male infertility, cold in the kidneys. It is a popular Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herb for men<br />

who need help keeping their penis up and woody. It is intended for short term use only. A little helps to much can<br />

burns out your urinary tract including your kidneys and adrenals leading to worse problems.<br />

Suggested use is<br />

As a Tea 1/2 teaspoon to 8 oz water, steep 45 min, drink 4 oz up to three times a day<br />

http://www.herbnet.<strong>com</strong>/ask%20the%20herbalist/asktheherbalist_questions%20on%20specifics.htm (11 of 46) [5/17/2004 9:08:17 AM]

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