How to make mother tincture from any plant in 3 steps

What is the mother tincture

Before taking an in-depth look at how to make mother tincture from any plant, you need to know what they are. It is a liquid composition or liquid extracts of the active ingredients of parts of a plant, which can be a root, leaves or flowers. They are usually a hydroalcoholic solution or based on other types of components, but they essentially concentrate the medicinal properties of a plant or part of it.

What are the benefits of mother tincture?

The benefits of mother tincture vary depending on the plant, but the general thing about all types of tincture is that they provide a concentration of active ingredients of the same, and that in addition survive plant wilting or deterioration whether fresh or dry, which leads to a loss of active ingredients over time.

The benefits of the plant or tree, whether obtained from its seeds, bark, stems, leaves, roots or flowers, are concentrated and sustainably nurtured ( sometimes these dyes can last two years or more).

Thus, we can emphasize that the benefits of mother tinctures of medicinal plants are that:

• They last longer than dried flowers and leaves.
• They concentrate a large part of the active principles of the plant.
• The active ingredients do not diminish in a short time.
• It can be easily consumed (for example, by adding a few drops to an infusion, a juice or a glass of water).
• They take up little space. Unlike dried plants, mother tinctures take up the space of a small pot.

Now that we have seen what the benefits are, let’s see how to make mother tincture at home from any plant, in the easiest way possible.

How to make mother tincture of any plant at home

Lo bueno de hacer tintura madre en casa, indifferently de que planta lo hagamos, ya que esto sirve para cualquiera, es que el proceso es sencillo y no necesitamos un gran laboratorio ni mucho menos y con el material que tenemos en la cocina tenemos más que sufficient.

The simplest way is maceration, and in fact it is the most common way to do it, of the parts of the plant that we are going to use (root, leaves, flowers, bark, etc.).

In other words, to make the mother tincture of raspberry leaves, we will use the leaves of the plant, while the mother tincture of licorice is made with the roots of the plant, the Radix dulcisas the Romans called it, or for example to make calendula mother tincture, the dried or fresh calendula flowers are used. pot marigold.

The method is maceration in ethyl alcohol for internal use. This is very important because other types of alcohol, such as methyl and isopropyl, are toxic and should never be used for internal consumption or ingestion.

The ratio is 100 grams of dried plant (or 250 grams of fresh leaves or flowers) for each liter of alcohol.

There are different degrees of alcohol, the most common being 70 degrees. In places where alcohol is very expensive or hard to obtain, vodka is used, although it is better to pull some strings and get ethyl alcohol. Today, you can even buy online. But in any case, vodka is a more accessible option for many people, since it can be purchased at any supermarket.

Prepare the mixture

To make our tincture, suppose we have chosen to make a tincture of calendula, we are going to take the petals of the plant (100 grams if dry, 250 grams if fresh), place them in a glass container of at least 1 litre, preferably with a wide mouth and an airtight lid (the ones with rubber and a metal lever closure, also called an airtight jar, as pictured) and add the alcohol until it be covered.

Airtight jars or jars, like the one we used, are a great option to avoid inconvenience.

If we want to do it in a smaller container, in this case it would be the ratio of 1:10 for dried leaves/flowers and 1:4 for fresh leaves/flowers.

We tightly close the container, store it in a cool, dark place for two weeks. It is important to shake well at least once a day so that the alcohol reaches all the flowers.

After two weeks, filter and keep the tincture for 24 hours to settle, and filter again, this time with a paper filter (the kind used for coffee) or you can also do it with a very clean cloth colander. .

The strainer can be paper or fabric.

to safeguard

We keep it in a dark glass jar, with the date and the name of the plant. We can keep it in dark bottles with a dropper, to facilitate its use and if we have made a lot, to give it to our loved ones. We can also have it in a large bottle and fill the small one with the dropper.

Learn more about mother tincture and its uses

Now that you know how to make mother tincture from any plant, you should know the benefits of some of the most important mother tinctures you can make yourself.

It is recommended, depending on the plant, from 5 to 20 drops for each glass of water, cup of infusion or juice.

Calendula tincture. This tincture brings many benefits, highlighting its use to treat skin conditions, but we must not forget that this plant contains nutrients (antioxidants, carotenoids, etc.) and is very good for treating liver and blood problems. stomach, in addition to being used for its regulating effects of the menstrual period.

A recent study demonstrated the effectiveness of this mother tincture in the healing of the oral mucosa, in the oral cavity after the extraction of molars resulting from dental treatments.

Licorice mother tincture. The main use of the tincture of this plant is to treat digestive problems and sometimes also for respiratory problems.

Echinacea tincture. Without a doubt, the main use of echinacea is to prepare tinctures, which serve to increase our resistance to diseases, especially in autumn and winter, since it helps to increase defenses and strengthens the immune system more than any other medicinal plant.

Mugwort tincture. Uses for this herb tincture range from treating digestive and liver problems to relieving flu or allergy symptoms.

Contraindications of mother tincture

As we have already said, the properties and active ingredients of the plants in the mother tincture are much more concentrated, and although this is positive on the one hand, caution and respect must be exercised.

Although some plants can be very good for the liver because they contain alcohol, people who suffer from severe liver problems (liver failure, hepatitis or cirrhosis) should avoid the tincture, given the presence of alcohol in this one.

It is for this same reason that its consumption is not recommended for pregnant, breastfeeding mothers or young children, since it could be strong, and this considering that the amount of drops is negligible.

Now you know how to make mother tincture from any plant at home. Tell us what experience you have with herbal mother tinctures. Have you noticed the results? Leave it in the comments!