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Has anyone made their own herbal extracts?

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Posted 1/21/2022 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Apologies if this isn’t appropriate for the forum.

I’m reading through Dr Buhner’s book and have started some of the herbs such as skullcap, knotweed, pine pollen, cats claw, etc. (This is in addition to other stuff I’m doing with my LLMD).

These extracts add up FAST. I’ve had experience making my own herbal glycerin extracts in the part, using a crockpot. I’m wondering if anyone else has done it for Lyme and would have tips or suggestions.
Posted 1/21/2022 6:43 PM (GMT 0)
I make all my own alcohol based tinctures according to the Buhner recepies

at the moment i am making all of the below

The lyme herbs are mainly focussing on immune modulation and CNS inflammation - the co-infection herbs are mainly strong antimicrobials

numbers to the right are dose in ml - 4x per day


Lyme herbs:
Knotweed 1:5 70% - 6
Chinese Skullcap root 1:4 50% - 2
Uncaria Rhynchophylla 1:4 60% - 4
Cordyceps Mycelium 1:4 50% - 3
Salvia Miltiorrhiza root 1:4 60% - 3.8
Uncaria tormentosa bark 1:4 60% - 3
Kudzu root - 50% - 3
Licorice root – 50% - 0.5

bartonella / coinfection herbs:
Mahonia 1:5 70% tincture 2.1 (a berberine containing herb)
Houttuynia 1:5 50% tincture 3.2
Sida acuta 1:5 60% tncture 1.0
Teasel root 1:3 45% tincture 0.8
Alchornea leaf 1:5 50% tincture 1.0
Cryptolepis root 1:5 60% tincture 1.0
Posted 1/21/2022 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, that’s a wonderful and inspiring list! I can’t wait to try my own.

I’m unable to have alcohol so mine are glycerintes. I believe it’s less potent but it’s the best I can do.

Have you made pine pollen extract? I have a pre made one and it’s delicious. I just don’t want to mess it up if I try my own.
Posted 1/22/2022 11:26 AM (GMT 0)
hi Canary

yes i have made pine pollen before - and i like the taste also - i also like the taste of Ginkgo, Sida, Eleuthero and Rhodiola - which is a bonus as i would take them for the medicinal effects even if they tasted bad - lol.

if you have read Buhner's books you will be aware that he does not support the use of glycerites based tinctures or extracts due to the much poorer solvent properties of glycerine vs ethanol.

in my experience the effects of most of these herbs are rather subtle and hence need to be used in significant doses to have useful effects. if you check the above doses ( which are based on Buhner's recommendations ) it is around 140ml per day for the full protocol.

if the tinctures are weaker in strength the the quantities needed will be much greater - and the dose of glycerine could quickly become an issue.
as an example - if glycerites are only half as strong that would equate to near 300ml per day of glycerite based tincture - which i think would cause digestive issues.
in fact i think glycerites are in some cases only 1/3 to 1/5th as strong due to the widely different solubility of some plant chemicals in glycerite vs alcohol.

i do not mean to discourage you - i am just traying to help you avoid a good deal of effort and expense for a less than ideal return.

i have two possible suggestions:

1, use alcohol for making the tinctures - but evaporate most of it away afterwards - before taking them -
to minimise how much i consume - i basically dose out my next portion into a glass tumbler right after i take one - 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
example mat here - they are inexpensive and safe
https://www.amazon.co.uk/reptile-vivarium-heat-heating-sizes/dp/b015olgtvs/

2, if you really cannot tolerate any alcohol or your religion prohibits it and will not exempt its use for medical purposes - i would consider using the herbs as teas. this is the primary way herbs are used in many traditional cultures including traditional Chinese medicine and has a long history of effectiveness.
very hot water is an excellent solvent and the high solvent to herb ratio also helps increase extraction.
dosing and safety record is also well documented for this method in traditional medicine literature.

finally there is a good thread on tincturing Buhner herbs and associated topics here you may find interesting
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=4268268
Posted 1/22/2022 5:08 PM (GMT 0)
I’m thinking about making my own herbal extracts because I’m tired of being broke. Spending thousands of dollars on herbs. Mountain herbs sells stuff to make herbal tinctures. And I’m in the Matthew wood institute that offers guides on how to make tinctures . I’m mountain rose herbs posts there’s two different way to make tincture one that’s more complex and complicated but quicker like in 48 hours then the traditional method which takes 1 month. So I’m going to try the complex way. Learn the ins and out. Buy the stuff I need and start making my own herbal tinctures. Feels like a lot of work though. But might keep me productive and busy since I feel completely bored and bedridden
Posted 1/22/2022 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
its quite satisfying - and as a benefit you can get a better idea of the quality of the herbs that are used when you make them yourself - as well as being much much cheaper than bought tinctures - sometimes 5-10x cheaper

if you get into doing more you might want to consider a small press of some kind to help extract more tincture from each batch - i do this and gain an extra 25% from each batch - the savings really add up.
Posted 1/23/2022 12:49 PM (GMT 0)

Garzie said...
hi Canary

yes i have made pine pollen before - and i like the taste also - i also like the taste of Ginkgo, Sida, Eleuthero and Rhodiola - which is a bonus as i would take them for the medicinal effects even if they tasted bad - lol.

if you have read Buhner's books you will be aware that he does not support the use of glycerites based tinctures or extracts due to the much poorer solvent properties of glycerine vs ethanol.

in my experience the effects of most of these herbs are rather subtle and hence need to be used in significant doses to have useful effects. if you check the above doses ( which are based on Buhner's recommendations ) it is around 140ml per day for the full protocol.

if the tinctures are weaker in strength the the quantities needed will be much greater - and the dose of glycerine could quickly become an issue.
as an example - if glycerites are only half as strong that would equate to near 300ml per day of glycerite based tincture - which i think would cause digestive issues.
in fact i think glycerites are in some cases only 1/3 to 1/5th as strong due to the widely different solubility of some plant chemicals in glycerite vs alcohol.

i do not mean to discourage you - i am just traying to help you avoid a good deal of effort and expense for a less than ideal return.

i have two possible suggestions:

1, use alcohol for making the tinctures - but evaporate most of it away afterwards - before taking them -
to minimise how much i consume - i basically dose out my next portion into a glass tumbler right after i take one - 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
example mat here - they are inexpensive and safe
https://www.amazon.co.uk/reptile-vivarium-heat-heating-sizes/dp/b015olgtvs/

2, if you really cannot tolerate any alcohol or your religion prohibits it and will not exempt its use for medical purposes - i would consider using the herbs as teas. this is the primary way herbs are used in many traditional cultures including traditional Chinese medicine and has a long history of effectiveness.
very hot water is an excellent solvent and the high solvent to herb ratio also helps increase extraction.
dosing and safety record is also well documented for this method in traditional medicine literature.

finally there is a good thread on tincturing Buhner herbs and associated topics here you may find interesting
https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=4268268

Thank you so much!! This was so helpful. I’m a little discouraged due to the lack of efficacy with the glycerites. I can’t tolerate any alcohol (not for religious reasons, but purely health) as it gives me nasty allergic reactions.

I’m really disappointed how little return glycerites give, and wonder what the best way to consume these herbs would be. I like your tea suggestions, I guess that’s the only option I have. I just feel like I’ll never be able to actually do his protocol and never get the benefits I need.
Posted 1/23/2022 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Please don't get discouraged!!
If you can't or decide not to use tinctures, you can also capsulized your herbs as well!

I've made plenty of alcohol tinctures, teas, honey-based herbals and more. They each have their benefits and negative issues from what I've found.

Some herbs can be made into a tonic, which is slightly stronger than a tea.

Many herbals sites now offer recipes for making your own!

That's one of the reasons I love herbs, there so many ways to get them into your system!

Teas are generally recognized as the most mild medicine, tinctures one of the strongest medicines to use, but there's other options.

For reference, a single O capsule holds approximately 500 grams, of you pack it good.
Posted 1/24/2022 12:24 AM (GMT 0)

Garzie said...
I make all my own alcohol based tinctures according to the Buhner recepies

at the moment i am making all of the below

The lyme herbs are mainly focussing on immune modulation and CNS inflammation - the co-infection herbs are mainly strong antimicrobials

numbers to the right are dose in ml - 4x per day


Lyme herbs:
Knotweed 1:5 70% - 6
Chinese Skullcap root 1:4 50% - 2
Uncaria Rhynchophylla 1:4 60% - 4
Cordyceps Mycelium 1:4 50% - 3
Salvia Miltiorrhiza root 1:4 60% - 3.8
Uncaria tormentosa bark 1:4 60% - 3
Kudzu root - 50% - 3
Licorice root – 50% - 0.5

bartonella / coinfection herbs:
Mahonia 1:5 70% tincture 2.1 (a berberine containing herb)
Houttuynia 1:5 50% tincture 3.2
Sida acuta 1:5 60% tncture 1.0
Teasel root 1:3 45% tincture 0.8
Alchornea leaf 1:5 50% tincture 1.0
Cryptolepis root 1:5 60% tincture 1.0


Hey where do you buy your herbs from ? Especially Sida acuta
Posted 1/24/2022 12:50 AM (GMT 0)
I just talked to a herbalist and she said got to make sure you make tinctures right with alcohol or can cause ethanol which is poisonous plus also toxic because you have to make sure everything is disinfectant or it could kill you.
Posted 1/24/2022 2:28 PM (GMT 0)
something not quite right there Despair

ethanol is the alcohol that is used in tincturing deliberately added in proportions of 30-70% as the solvent - its the same alcohol as is present in alcoholic beverages that people have been consuming for thousands of years.

ethanol is also a natural disinfectant at these concentrations - so its actually anti-septic to all potentially dangerous organisms that could be in the raw materials.

i think that particular herbalists was either extremely ill informed - or was just trying to scare you away from making your own.
Posted 1/24/2022 2:46 PM (GMT 0)

Despair said...


Hey where do you buy your herbs from ? Especially Sida acuta

i am in Europe - i get most of mine from LymeHerbs.eu

very helpful people and the quality is about the best i have found - a bit better than others i have used
eg. 1st Chinese herbs
buhner has sources in his books also - mostly in north America
sagewoman herbs
desert tortoise botanicals
woodland essences ( mainly tinctures i think)

mounteagle herbs in Canada have sida acuta - or they did a couple of years ago when i bought it from them - quality was good but the carriage costs were extreme
Posted 1/24/2022 4:11 PM (GMT 0)

Traveler said...
Please don't get discouraged!!
If you can't or decide not to use tinctures, you can also capsulized your herbs as well!

I've made plenty of alcohol tinctures, teas, honey-based herbals and more. They each have their benefits and negative issues from what I've found.

Some herbs can be made into a tonic, which is slightly stronger than a tea.

Many herbals sites now offer recipes for making your own!

That's one of the reasons I love herbs, there so many ways to get them into your system!

Teas are generally recognized as the most mild medicine, tinctures one of the strongest medicines to use, but there's other options.

For reference, a single O capsule holds approximately 500 grams, of you pack it good.

That is true about capsules! I make a lot of my own for other supplements. I can definitely do that. I’m wondering the best way to do skullcap, since glycerites might not be the right choice. Perhaps though yea is weaker, just dipping on a large amount throughout the day?
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