Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 8, 2003, at 11:58:35
In reply to Re: Lexapro******Day 5 » Bill L , posted by galkeepinon on August 7, 2003, at 17:23:00
Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here. Valerian has never really worked for me (as far as insomnia is concerned, anyway... there is maybe a slight reduction in anxiety/muscle relaxation... but that may be placebo). I've tried many different forms, including tinctures of valerian that are very high in valeric acid (the active phytochemical).
Though I generally prefer to manufacture my own tinctures and glycerites of herbs (just yesterday I finished a skullcap/calamus/wormwood tincture that is just wonderful), there *is* one product commercially available that I've found helpful. It's a glycerite made by Gaia Herbs called "Valerian Poppy Supreme". It comes in 60ml (2oz.) bottles, and one dose (40 drops) contains 60mg total of extracts of valerian root, skullcap, California poppy, kava kava, passionflower, German chamomile, and mugwort. Here's a link:
http://www.iherb.com/veleriapop.html
There isn't a prescription sleep aid available that puts me to sleep, but this stuff knocks me right out -- and no hangover in the morning; just a pleasant relaxed feeling!
If you'd like to make your own herbal extracts at home, the process is very simple, though it takes four-six weeks. In case you're interested, here's how you do it:
1. First, of course, you have to decide which herbs you want to use in your extract. For example:
(Note: each combination of herbs listed here is just one of hundreds that could potentially be used to treat each condition listed -- these are just either my personal favorites, or ones that I've prescribed to others and seen good results with)
*To promote immunity and to detoxify your system: echinacea, thyme, mistletoe, eleuthero root, vervain, and elder flower
*To treat heart conditions, maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, and control hypertension: hawthorn berries, mistletoe, garlic, yarrow, rue, and asafoetida
*To treat depression: borage, camphor, meadowsweet, St. John's wort, rosemary, and mint
*To treat anxiety: betony, lavender, ashwagandha, reishi fungus, passionflower, and California poppy
*To treat ADD/ADHD: cowhage, kava kava, panax ginseng, and yohimbe
*To treat migraines: coriander, feverfew, betony, lavender, and rosemary
*To treat IBS: borage, valerian, anise seed, ginger, caraway, saffron, and lemongrass (if accompanied by diarrhea) or fennel seeds (if accompanied by constipation)
*To treat bronchitis or asthma: chamomile, horehound, elder berries, parsley, mullein, and hyssop
*To treat arthritis or fibromyalgia: camphor, bay laurel, white willow bark (contains salicylic acid, an orginal source for aspirin), meadowsweet, horehound, elder root, stems, or leaves, valerian and frankincense
*To treat CFS: eleuthero root, cardamom, panax ginseng, American ginseng, reishi fungus, mint, violet, lavender, rosemary, and rue
But let's just say you want to replicate (roughly) the Valerian Poppy Supreme extract above, only let's make it a tincture (alcohol-based) instead of a glycerite (glycerin-based). Alcohol is much more effective at absorbing the active chemicals in the plants. So the items you will need are valerian root, skullcap, California poppy, kava kava root, passionflower, German chamomile flowers, mugwort, 1.75 liters of 100-proof vodka, seven 8oz. Mason jars (actually, anything will work fine as long as it's not metal or plastic), sticky labels, mortar and pestel and/or coffee grinder, a tea strainer, coffee filters, and a one ounce amber bottle with a one millileter dropper. You'll need about an ounce of each herb listed, which will probably cost anywhere from $5-10 at your local health food store (if there's an herb or two you can't find, don't worry about it -- the tincture will still be effective); you can buy cheap vodka -- I use Crystal Palace brand, which costs about $10 for 1.75 liters; the jars I'm not sure about -- you may already have some, but if you have to buy them, they're a great investment, since they can be used over and over again in preparing all sorts of herbal remedies; the dropper and amber bottle should be easy enough to find -- just buy a commerically made herbal extract at the store that comes in a one ounce amber bottle (the cheapest one you can find) and discard the contents. You may even want to buy several so that you have more for storing other tinctures in.
2. Using either a mortar and pestel (mucho elbow grease) or coffee grinder (less-o elbow grease :-), pulverize all your herbs as finely as you can, preferably to a powder. In order to get the roots (valerian and kava kava) to powder, you'll pretty much have to use a coffee grinder.
3. Place each herb in a separate Mason jar (or whatever you're using) and cover with the vodka completely, also leaving a layer of vodka that extends about one inch over the top of the herb. Don't forget to label them!!
4. Place the lids on the jars, and shake each one well. Place in a warm, dark place. This process of the active chemicals being extracted into the solvent over time is called maceration.
5. Every day, take out each jar and shake it vigorously for just a few seconds.
6. After 4-6 weeks (depending on how strong you want the extract to be), it's time to strain the spent plant matter from the liquid. A tea strainer works well for the first pass, but to get out the smaller particles, coffee filters work very well. Just make sure that you squeeze every last drop of liquid that you can out of the herb.
7. Rinse each jar well, then place each extract back into its respective container.
8. Now the easy part -- you're just going to combine the extracts to form the tincture. In the one ounce (1oz. = 30ml) amber bottle, using the dropper put 4ml of each extract into the bottle, then cap it and shake well. Also make sure you shake it before every use. Tinctures will last at least 3-5 years without losing any potency.
9. And now the even easier part -- taking the tincture. :-) Just put 40 drops in a glass of spring water and drink on an empty stomach. You'll definitely feel some effect from this, but if it's not enough after 20 minutes, try another 40 drops. The maximum for anyone over 12 years of age is 120 drops per dose; for children over six years of age, the maximum is 60 drops per dose; ages 2-6, max of 20 drops per dose. This particular tincture is not recommended for infants, though a plain California poppy tincture has been used on infants by Native Americans for centuries to calm their nerves and aid their sleep -- the dose is 2-4 drops directly in the mouth or mixed with their milk/formula.
Now that that's done, I should tell you that there *are* ways to prepare herbal extracts that are non-alcoholic, which makes them more appropriate for giving to children or former alcoholics.
One way, as mentioned above, is in the form of a glycerite. The preparation is almost exactly the same -- just substitute a 60% glycerine/40% rose water solution (available at most pharmacies) for vodka, and allow it to macerate for at least 8 weeks. Glycerites are generally less preferred though because glycerine extracts fewer of the the active constituents of the plant matter than alcohol, and also because they don't last quite as long -- they begin to degrade after about two years.
The least preferred way of making an extract is to use apple cider vinegar instead of vodka or glycerine and to let it macerate at least 12 weeks. The only real disadvantages of vinegar extracts though are:
1.) They degrade rapidly, lasting about six months.
2.) They, like glycerine, aren't as effective as alcohol at extracting active chemicals.
3.) The maceration process takes so long.Finally, there *is* a way to "de-alcoholize" a tincture. Simply put the appropriate number of drops of tincture into an empty cup, then add a bit of near boiling water. This will evaporate most of the alcohol, but still keeps the good stuff intact. Then you just add water and drink it as usual.
Well, I enjoyed writing this -- I've been meaning to write something on preparing herbal extracts, as I always save these types of posts as sort of "essays" that I've written. If you have any questions, ask away -- I'm an herbalist, so any health issue you have, I can recommend something that will surely help. Best of luck!
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:248487
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030807/msgs/249304.html