Buhner Herbs - Powder vs. Tincture - Most Effective?

yep your sums are correct

I'm guessing you were aiming for a 5:1 menstruum ( liquid ) to herb ratio weight / weight - which is the standard approach for dried herbs that Buhner usually suggests

i generally use 96% and water and calculate the weighs to use to get the % alcohol i want for each herb - as weighing just works out a bit easier for me

i also add around 1tablespoon of apple cider vinegar as some of the herbs ( possibly many of them) are much more soluble in acidic solutions - alkaloids in particular - and the tap water in the UK is typically hard/alkaline - so a worthwhile addition

4 weeks is fine for leaving them before pressing - more is not needed - esp if the herbs are finely powdered

do shake vigorously though - as herbs can forma sludge in the jar that stops it mixing effectively - and i have opened several after even vigorous shaking and been surprised to fine big lumps of mud like sediment - finer herbs do this more than coarse ones

have a think about how you will press them when done-

up to around 40% of the tincture can remain in the wet herb after draining and squeezing as much as you can by hand - so its worthwhile to get a good yield after all your effort and waiting - not to mention cost

hope it all goes well for you

let me know if i can help in any way

yep - its a shame there are not more studies like teh one that you mention that show how different herbs are optimised for different pathogens / or effects with different alcohol / water concentrations

ref rinsing - its acceptable to use another 10-15ml of alcohol or alcohol water mix to swill the last contents of the herb / menstruum mix out from the jar used to macerate the tinctures in. that is what i do.

ref pressing - all ways i have seen take a bit of effort or expense -
obviously if you are not doing a lot of tincture - a great expense is hard to justify
the presses i have seen advertised for this do not seem to be very good to my eyes

i originally used a very cheap-to-make manual press made from some bits of 12mm all thread, some stainless steel tube and some round disks of wood i fashioned out of an old chopping block
the thread clamed the tube between blocks of wood and another thread this was v cheap but was pretty physical to use and would typically wear the tread out after 10-20 batches of tincture

when i started to find benefits from the tinctures and also added more to my protocol it was worthwhile for me to make a better rig - so i adapted the same steel tube and wooden discs to be used in a hydraulic press that i saw on offer on ebay - which cost around £50
that has done many many batches, presses way harder than any threaded press can while being easier to operate and is still going strong

i described these rigs in earlier threads here on the forum - will try to find them

Hi Garzie,

I'm starting to notice that taking many alcohol tinctures, which are also taken on an empty stomach, are starting to cause pain. Probably also the Oregano (high carvacrol content), Cinnamon oil and clove bud oil, are hurting something badly inside of me. All together is just waaay too much.

What good options are there? I am very budget constrained since I am on social welfare due to health issues.
I was thinking of making 2:1 instead of 5:1 tinctures, using less alcohol. Is there anything I should know about that?
Or should I go with pills, with i.e. high concentration of (trans)Resveratrol, etc. etc. ?

yep - welcome Unicorn

the issue with lower menstruum to herb ratios is that its less efficient - both at dissolving the wanted chemicals - which are not all very soluble in the first place and so easily saturate the alcohol water mix with the maximum it can carry - leaving much in the herb itself

and secondly that when you come to press a 2:1 mixture - to get your wanted tincture out again - if 30% remains after pressing with a 5:1 micture - this can be more like 50% with a 2:1 mixture - so there are losses there

that's really why herbalists have arrived at a typical 5:1 mix in the first place - its a kind of sweet spot

however i doubt its the alcohol upsetting your stomach

its way less aggressive than the essential oils you mention - and those you mention - while effective - are well known for being hard on the digestive system

if you still want to reduce the alcohol content of the tinctures you consume - i would suggest making the tinctures as described above - and then evaporating off most of the alcohol afterwards - this is what i do as otherwise i would be having the equivalent of 4 double scotch shots per day in alcohol

to minimise how much alcohol i consume - i basically dose out my next portion into a glass tumbler right after i take a dose - and place it on a small reptile heating mat - this warms the glass to around body temperature and the majority of the alcohol evaporates by the time i come to take the next dose of tincture / next meal

example mat here - they are inexpensive and safe
https://www.amazon.co.uk/reptile-vivarium-heat-heating-sizes/dp/b015olgtvs/

UnicornMadness said...

1) Quorum Sensing Inhibition, so bacteria can not communicate and loose outer layer

Here's a list of quarum sensing inhibitors, it includes clove extract, which I personally like a lot:

Horseradish-Iberin
Garlic-ajoene
Turmeric-curcumin
Citrus flavinoids-flavonine naringenin
Sponge Agelas oroides-alkaloid oroidin
Red marine alga known as Dalea pulchra-halogenated furanones
Grape fruit extract-furocoumarins, carotenoids, limonoids, pectin, and coumarin
Nutmeg (Myristica cinnamomea)-Malabaricone C
Nutmeg (M. cinnamomea)-Alabaricone C
Sweet basil-osmarinic acid
Garlic-disulfides and trisulphides
Clove extract-eugenol
Clove extract-hexane and methanol
Piper nigrum, Piper betle and Gnetum gnemon-hexane, chloroform, and methanol
Coffe extract-caffeine

from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc4336667/

I had mentioned something was hurting my stomach badly, but it is gone really fast after skipping 2 intakes of oregano oil and instead taking Manuka honey on an empty stomach. I am back at Oregano oil and without pain (yet).
I had noticed taking the tinctures in the morning caused light pain as well, but that is gone too after the honey.

I just can't get rid of the weird feeling in my head and my brain feeling it is burning mixed with brain fog/dizzyness.
Ohh an that ringing in the ear...
Am I taking too many herbs or too little? Is it Herx or the infections?

Thanks GoatLady for the advice.

I am thinking of replacing some (not all) of my tinctures with capsules to reduce the alcohol intake.
Knowing what alcohol does to the body, I don't think it can never be good taking it multiple times a day for months on end. (If alcohol would have been invented today, it would have been banned immediately for being the most damaging drugs on the market.)

For example, instead of Chinese Skullcap, I have 500 mg capsules of 98% purity Baicalein (kills about 50-60% of Round-form Borrelia in vitro within 72 hours when combined with Doxycycline)

I am also intending to get 500 mg 98% (trans)resveratol capsules to replace Japanese Knotweed tinctures. Or is there anything else in Japanese Knotweed other than (trans)resveratol that helps treating/beating Lyme which would make taking the full herb tincture a much better idea?

And anyone here have other suggestions for replacements of tinctures that work well?

UPDATE
When looking up a-Terpineol to add to my stack I found out in addition to Rosemary oil, it was also in Chinese Skullcap to be found. So, while I had bought pure Baicalein capsules as was combined in research with Doxycycline, it would not contain a-terpineol. a-Terpineol is a phynonutrient known for lossing membrane-bound autolytic enzymes as well as cytoplasm leakage (human language: draining the moist out of the cell) and inability to osmoregulate in e.coli bacteria. It might work well for giving Borrelia & Co. a hell as well. since Chinese skullcap is used for many co-infections.

Does the Buhner book state all the phytonutrients of herb? If so, I might need to read the book despite my cognitive issues.

Post Edited (UnicornMadness) : 8/29/2022 4:42:02 AM (GMT-7)