Botanical Medicine Tincture Classes

Things have been rather busy here on my end, resulting in the lack of posting to this blog. We are currently in the middle of our first retreat for the month of August, and things are running beautifully. One of my responsibilities during our 9-Day Mountain Retreats is teaching two botanical medicine making/tincture classes, seemingly a natural move as I already am producing a respectable number of tinctures already. In these 1 - 1.5 hour courses, I take the retreat guests through the protocols, procedures, and pitfalls of the tincture-making process. After a 20 minute info session, we exit to the gardens behind the lodge, identifying various herbs and selecting a few for use in cold infusions. During this current retreat, our guests selected chamomile and lemon balm and ran a side-by-side comparison of their use in both cold and hot infusions, which we will check and sample during today's final session. After our trip through the gardens, we then began the sorting/selecting and maceration processes for two decoction extractions, one for coca and the other for Una de Gato, a.k.a. Cat's Claw. Today, we continue with the final steps for the coca and Una de Gato tinctures including, heating w/ 95% ethanol, filtration, reduction, and bottling processes. So far, the classes appear to be proceeding smoothly with active engagement from the guests. I believe one even had a dream about me going around the world harvesting plants. These sessions will prove to be excellent preparation for my full day medicine/tincture class at our associated permaculture hostel--The Hof--on August 17th. I've posted the flyer below:

Also, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the amazing medicinal properties of Una de Gato, I'll post some information below (P.S. I try to take some of this everyday):

Cat's Claw (Uncaria tomentosa), commonly known as "una de gato" in Spanish, is a South American rainforest herb known among the natives for its curative properties. Referred to as the "Sacred Herb of the Rainforest," this vine's small thorns located at the base of its leaves resemble a cat's claw. Sold over the counter as a cancer treatment in South America, cat's claw's use as a cancer aid shows promising results in studies conducted throughout the world.
- Herbs Against Cancer: History and Controversy by Ralph W. Moss PhD

Also called una de gato, cat's claw is a woody vine that grows in the tops of trees in Peruvian rain forests. It is a favorite for stimulating the immune system. Many of the single chemicals found in this powerful herb have been patented for use in treating AIDS, cancer, arthritis, and other diseases. However, using the whole plant can be more potent than any one isolated ingredient. Medicinal uses - • There are six alkaloids prevalent in cat's claw bark. These are what give this herb its incredible healing power.
- The Doctor's Complete Guide to Vitamins and Minerals by Dr. Mary Dan Eades


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/027138_una_de_gato_cancer.html#ixzz2bOWPHT4c

I've also posted some of the information package that I hand out to our guests during the shorter courses below:

What is the difference between a tincture and an extract?

Tinctures are concentrated herbal extracts that have alcohol as the solvent. If you are using water, vinegar, glycerin, or any menstruum (solvent) other than alcohol, your preparation is an extract – not a tincture. Tinctures can be administered straight from the dropper bottle or added to tea, juice, or water and can be made from fresh or dried herbs.

Why use a tincture instead of the whole herb?

Tinctures are especially effective in drawing out the essential compounds of plants, especially those that are fibrous or woody, and from roots and resins. Since this method ensures that the herbs and their nutrients can be preserved for a long time, it is often mentioned in herbal books and remedies as a preferred way of using herbs. In addition, many herbalists love tinctures for other beneficial reasons, such as their being easy to carry, their utility for long-term treatments, and their ability to be absorbed rapidly, as well as allowing for immediate dosage changes. As well, should the tincture prove bitter, it's easily added to juice to disguise the flavor. Another benefit of tinctures is that they keep nutrients from the plants in a stable, soluble form and they retain the volatile and semi-volatile ingredients that are otherwise lost in heat-treatment and processing of dry herbal extracts

What type of extraction is used to make a tincture?

Although there are many extraction processes, the method commonly employed in the production of tinctures is known as a solid-liquid extraction. The solid phase in the extraction is the plant material, while the liquid phase is the solvent into which compounds from the plant are extracted.

How do extractions work?

All extractions are governed by a set of chemical rules based upon the interactions of intermolecular forces between the two phases involved in the extraction, resulting in the phrase, “like dissolves like.” The solvent will only absorb compounds similar to its own polarity profile from the bulk plant material, leaving dissimilar compounds behind. Most health beneficial compounds found within plants, such as bioactive alkaloids, are very polar, so polar solvents, such as water, ethanol and the like are typically used. These solvents are also safe to consume, so they make a practical choice. In this class we will be using an ethanol/water solvent system.

Alcohol Percentages

40% – 50% (80-90 proof vodka)
• “Standard” percentage range for tinctures.
• Good for most dried herbs and fresh herbs that are not juicy.
• Good for extraction of water soluble properties.

67.5% - 70% (½ 80 proof vodka + ½ 190 proof grain alcohol)
• Extracts most volatile aromatic properties.
• Good for fresh high-moisture herbs like lemon balm, berries, and aromatic roots.
• The higher alcohol percentage will draw out more of the plant juices.

85% – 95% (190 proof grain alcohol)
• Good for gums and resins.
• Extracts aromatics and essential oils that are bound in the plant and do not dissipate easily.
• The alcohol strength can produce a tincture that is not quite pleasant to take.
• Often used for drop dosage medicines.
• Will totally dehydrate herbs.

• Can be diluted with water post-extraction.

Some basic methods of extractions used with herbs are:

1) Cold Infusion: soaking material over a period of time in cold water with periodic agitation
2) Hot Infusion: soaking material over a shorter period of time in hot water with periodic agitation
3) Decoction: boiling material in water over an even shorter period of time with frequent agitation
4) Tincture: can be cold/hot infusion or decoction using alcohol as solvent

Phases of Tincture Making:

1) Selection: Use dried or fresh herbs. These can be hard (roots, bark, woody stems, seeds) or soft herbs (flowering parts, leaves, soft stems). Research what parts of various herbs contain the medicinal properties as well as which parts to avoid. Pick through your herb mass, discarding any parts that appear to have large blemishes.

2) Drying: This can be done using the traditional method of sun-drying, or the process can be expedited using a dehydrator.

3) Maceration: Since extractions rely upon intermolecular interactions occurring between the surfaces of the two phases involved, increasing the surface area of your solid plant material allows for a more efficient extraction. This can be accomplished by hand, scissors, knife, blender, or mortar and pestle. When using a blender, it would be a good idea to add some of the ethanol in with the plant material in order to prevent burning out the motor.

4) Extraction: If performed as a cold infusion, simply add plant material to a glass or ceramic vessel with the solvent, seal it, and agitate it each day for 1 day to 2 weeks. For a hot infusion. Heat the ethanol either in a double boiler apparatus or directly on the stove top to just under a boil, and proceed as if a cold infusion (requires less extraction time). For a decoction, simmer the solvent/plant mixture for 15 minutes to 5 hours, depending on the hardiness of the material. Be very careful when heating the solvent on a gas stove, as ethanol is flammable. Make sure to use a stainless steal pot.

5) Filtration: Depending on the size of the macerated plant pieces, one could use a strainer, colander, coffee filter, or cheesecloth.

6) Concentration/Dilution: Fresh plant extractions tinctured at a ration of 1 to 1 weight to volume in 190 proof alcohol will yield approximately a 55% alcohol tincture, which can be diluted with water (preferable distilled) to an appropriate concentration.

7) Bottling: After the appropriate concentration is achieved, pour using a funnel into desired size amber colored bottles (w/ dropper lids for dispensing, caps for storage)
Other Guidelines:

Rule of thumb when using dried herbs is to mix weight of herb with volume of alcohol at a 1: 4 ratio.
That is, mix 1 ounce of dried herb to 4 ounces of alcohol or mix 8 ounces of dried herb with 32 ounces of alcohol water mixture and so on.
For fresh herbs use a 1:1 ratio.



OTHER TINCTURE MENSTRUUMS:
Apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar and glycerin.
VINEGAR: Use vinegar full strength. With dried herb mix at a 1:4 weight to volume strength.
Combine and blend completely. Store and shake for two weeks. Pour and squeeze off through a cheese cloth. Siphon into amber bottles for therapeutic use.
I don't recommend using vinegar in live (fresh) plant extractions. With the water content from the plant, the vinegar may not be at an adequate ph to preserve the tincture. I like to keep vinegar tinctures refrigerated for added safety.
GLYCERIN: First mix water with glycerin at a 1:1 ratio.
Then, combine the water/glycerin mixture at a 1:4 weight to volume ratio with the dried herb. Blend completely in a blender. Store in a refrigerator and shake for two weeks. Pour off into amber bottle for use. Keep refrigerated.
NOTE: When making a glycerin extraction from fresh plant material, do not add water. The water in the fresh plant will be adequate. Mix the herb of a fresh plant extraction at a 1:1 weight to volume ratio. Blend. Store in refrigerator and shake often (daily). Strain. Store in refrigerator.

Well, that about does it for this morning. I'll be posting about my other activities and project progress from the past three weeks when I find time to do so. Until the next time...

My first hydroelectric...

First of all, I would love to thank all of you who have taken the time to read the blog today--a record thus far. I would also like to take the time to encourage readers to sign up to be followers and to break the ice of leaving a comment.

On this day, the current topic is hydroelectric power! This post, inherent to the nature of the topic, will also tend towards the technical. One of my first official duties is to gather data, develop a project profile, raise funds, and install a 12 kW reverse water pump (giving water, getting electricity) in the local Quechua community of Llupa--all within a two-month timeline.

The purpose of this project is to replace our current 12 kW reverse water pump with a newly purchased 20kW water turbine (~$20,000) to satisfy our energy consumption at the lodge and the farmhouse 24/7. The original water pump would then be "loaned" to the community of Llupa to provide enough energy to power 12 to 15 houses (each taking between 0.5 and 1.0 kW). After an analysis of the power consumed by each household, the funds typically paid to the regional/national energy company and eventually funneled off-shore would then be paid into a community-managed central fund, which would then be doled out upon approval of a community-staffed committee to fund various community-development projects under the oversight of Ka'Way Monti NGO and The Way Inn Lodge, effectively keeping the money in the community.

My initial task was to map various waypoints along the stream, collecting GPS coordinates and altitude measurements. But before that could be completed, Alex guided me along the stream pointing out specific loci of interests. Passing adobe-style houses, we descended along the path that runs parallel to the stream. Several items of interest were being counted during this trek--number of houses with electrical boxes and number and locations of various stream diversions for example. We vaguely identified possible locations for the de-sanders and the water pump facility taking into account locations of houses, the relative amount of vertical drop, and the projected relative costs of pipeline vs. electrical wiring--all civil and electrical engineering aspects of the project. The technical feasibility of the project is just one of the four different elements necessary to generate a project profile to eventually present to potential fundraising entities. The financial feasibility, legal feasibility, and social/management feasibility of such a project must also be considered. But first things first...I had to gather pertinent data on the stream itself--the vertical drop/distance between various waypoints and the volume and velocity properties of the water flow.

Armed with Ryan's iPhone 5, I installed Altimeter, an application that promises +/- 5 meter accuracy in its altitude measurements, and set out along the stream. Stopping at various easily identifiable points of interest, I collected GPS and altitude measurements. The reliability of the collected data seemed to pass the personal "makes sense to me" test, with the exception of two particular regions through which altitude measurements oscillated +/- 20 m before equilibrating to a stable result. At the fourth crossing of the road that meanders back and forth across the stream, I concluded my descent. This was the site that Alex and I defined earlier as an idyllic location for our pump station. It was at branching point of the stream and relatively-speaking, according to eye-ball measurements, at a point of balance between the length of piping needed to extend from the de-sanders to the water pump to achieve suitable vertical drop (in order to generate the defined amount of energy to reach the maximum energy output of the machinery) and the length of electrical wiring needed to access the the electrical boxes of the maximum number of houses as determined by the maximum energy output. As the descent had concluded, I made good use of the trek home, by collected an additional set of geographic data throughout my ascent at each waypoint within 0.1' of the original GPS coordinates of each locus.

With initial data in hand, I calculated the distances (in meters) between each waypoint using a distance function derived from the Pythagorean Theorem, the culmulative distance relative to the point of origin, the relative altitude drop between each point, and finally the culmulative altitude drop at each point relative to the origin. Below is an altitude vs. distance graph of the results of the down run, up run, and average mean of the two runs.

At least two more sets of measurements will be collected, one set of which I will conduct today, but according to calculations on this initial data set, the project will be technically feasible. If we use our initially-determined locations for both the de-sander and the pump facility, we will generate 80 meters of vertical drop (more than enough for our projected power provision). In fact, if future data (both topological and water flow measurements) is consistent, we can reduce the length of pipeline, and its financial burden, by a distance of at least 150 meters, increasing the financial feasibility of such a project.

Well, I guess that sums up my initial investigation into the feasibility of my first hydroelectric project. The technical data collection and subsequent analysis I feel will be the easiest aspect of this project for me. Financial analysis, fundraising, and social management of the project might prove more challenging, but then again, what's the fun without a challenge.

Until the next time... Be the change you want to see in the world around you.

Blessings,

Robert.

Post-Initial Extracto de Coca Report

So it has been a couple days since my last blog post, but I would like to start out by thanking all of you who have already perused the blog posts to date and encourage you to leave comments or to sign up to "follow" this blog. Also, please consider checking out the two website links posted previously. The following addition to the blog is a narrative of the technical process and results of my extractions I described earlier.

We left off a few days ago, during which I was describing my intention to develop an elixir for physiological difficulties due to the altitude of the lodge. This was quite the fun experiment! Nostalgic remembrances of the scientific activities of my youth flooded my mind as I ground, extracted, filtered, and reduced the resulting volume of natural plant materials to produce some product that possessed positive physiological effects. Seventeen short years ago, I was performing a similar task on a variety of nutshells and nut meats with hopes of finding an extract with biological activity against various cancer cell lines and/or antagonistic microorganisms--a project that would spur my scientific curiosity and garner me 2nd place in chemistry at the International Science and Engineering Fair my junior and senior years in high school.

100 g of dried leaves

The plant material post-grinding

The ethanol/plant mixture

My filtration apparatus

For the first extraction with 100 g of plant material, I performed the thermally accelerated extraction using the wood stove in the ceremonial yurt with two other plant additives, namely the leaves of a lemon balm plant and stevia. In addition, I added an excess amount of a basic "activator," a general term used for any additive that assists in the extraction of alkaloids from plant materials. After the separation of the biomass from the solvent used for the extraction (95% ethanol/water), I then washed the plant material, raising the volume higher than desirable, so an additional volume reduction was necessary. The wood stove proved to be too irregular and uncontrollable heating method, producing a color change from green to brown. After scratching my head for a bit, I attempted to shift the equilibrium by adding additional activator (a commonly used weak base), which produced the desired return of the chlorophyll-esque hue of the concoction. Upon achieving the desired final volume, I transferred the extract to an amber colored container and went searching for guinea pigs.

The dropper bottle (for dispensing), one of two bottles of the first extract (center), the second larger amber bottle of the pure oil (2nd batch, right)

These test subjects were not too hard to wrangle, and all were VERY pleased with the effects--a general boost in overall physiological vitality. In my second batch, I switched from the wood stove to a gas stovetop, removed all additives but the activator of which I used only a tablespoon for this iteration. After removing all the ethanol I could safely, the result was a smaller volume, higher potency, oil. This oil then will serve as the concentrated base from which to make more dilute tinctures of the product. Overall, I would say that this project was quite pleasantly successful and will prove to be a valuable tonic to newly arriving retreat guests having difficulty with the two-miles of altitude that we experience at the lodge. I also plan on utilizing the entire plant material, so maybe I'll experiment with making coca-paper from the residual plant solids.

The left over plant material.

The relative success of these extractions also led to another opportunity to contribute during the retreats that we hold. A three-session extract preparation course has now weaseled its way into our retreat schedule to be taught by yours truly. To successfully teach such a mini-course, I do have to search out more accurate volume-measuring tools to utilize in the dilution process--something that might prove difficult in a rather isolated Andean city, but I'll make do with what I have.

Well, I guess that brings some closure to my initial extraction experiments. I plan on describing two more projects I've been investigating during the past two days, but that will have to wait until later today. Until the next time, my friends...

Be the change you want to see in the world around you...

Extraction Initiation

I woke up to the rising sun this morning and the crisp chill mountain air:

The sun rises in the east

Today's activities include grinding up coca leaves, performing an ethanol extraction of the spectra of alkaloids, reducing the volume to the thick extract, and making altitude sickness tinctures and candy lozenges. Before you jump to any conclusions, there are many therapeutic health benefits to be found in the lesser known alkaloids present within the coca leaf. These alkaloids work in concert with one another to produce an overall health tonic used by the Andean indigenous peoples for millenia, especially beneficial at high altitudes due to the increased oxygen flow in the bloodstream. Below is a list of the known bioactive alkaloids found in the coca leaf, as well as their effect on the body (the most infamous of which is listed first, but is the one of least interest to me in this process; and yes, this is legal here in Peru):

Cocaine	Stimulating, euphoric, painkiller.
Ecgonine	Gives stamina, regulates the burning of carbohydrates and increases fat burning.
Quinoline	Prevents caries and strengthens the gums.
Globuline	Stimulates blood circulation, against altitude sickness and low blood pressure.
Papaine	Promotes digestion, good for the skin.
Pectine	Anti-diarrhea, removal of toxins
Reserpine	Against high blood pressure.
Benzoine	Anti-fermenting agent, good for skin, mouth and colon.
Atropine	Dry’s up salival glands, relaxes muscle tonus.
Hygrine	Stimulates salival gland.
Pyridine	Stimulates blood circulation, improves the oxygen absorption of brain and muscles.
Conine	Local anaestesia.
Inuline	Improves the production of hemoglobin.
Cocamine	Analgetic painkiller, blocks only pain other sensations remain intact.

Alkaloids are organic nitro-based compounds, which are  produced by  many plants. They form an energy reserve in metabolic processes of the plant and helps the plant to defend against insects and diseases, and are often found to have high bioactivity in humans.

Future uses of the extracts include toothpastes, lotions, oils, salves, soaps, and shampoos. I'll let you know how it goes...

Below are some images I captured last year that illustrate the views in each direction from the lodge:

The view from the Way Inn at sunset to the north

A view to the northeast of The Way Inn

A view to the east

The Way Inn Lodge, the ceremonial yurt, looking to the west

Below are two helpful links:

The Way Inn Lodge

Ka'Way Monti NGO

The Beginning is a Very Good Place to Start

Maneuvering through its complexities, I am struck by how truly amazing life really is and how each new moment adds new understanding to the word amazing. Looking out of the farmhouse window at a panoramic view of Andean mountains, yet unscathed by the civilization of man, I realize how truly fortunate and grateful I am to believe that I have something of meaning to record, let alone that anyone would find it meaningful to themselves to spend time reading it.

As context is a critically necessary element of any narrative, I thought I would initiate this record by painting you a picture. The Way Inn Lodge perches  upon the edge of a high plateau, a forty-five minute drive from the city of Huaraz, Peru below. It's rustic architecture imparts a feeling of comfort and tranquility upon those who stay here. Our water descends from the top of a glacial mountain peak filtering through the rock over some number of years into our pipes and out our taps. Our air is thin but clean, and our food is locally or self-grown. Ice-capped mountain peaks rise gloriously in three of the cardinal directions, watching over our activities. Bubbling between the winding dirt road and the property is a free-flowing stream, from which we draw the energy to power our structures through the use of a water turbine. That stream meanders down through the Quechua dommunities of Llupa and Unchus to the bustling Andean city of Huaraz, in which on any given day, you have the opportunity to observe a decorative parade marching and dancing through the main thoroughfare in honor of a cultural or community event.

In July of 2012 members of The Way Inn established a non-profit organization with the focus of local vitalization of the surrounding Quechua communities, the establishment of a permaculture-based ecovillage, and the administration of school of sustainability. It was during this same month that I stumbled across the lodge as I wandered down an obscure mountain road after a six-hour hike to and from Laguna Churup, a crystalline-blue glacial lake 4450 meters in elevation. One year later, almost to the day, I find myself here again--this time with the opportunity of a lifetime to contribute to these causes and more through whatever skills, talents, and efforts that I might possess. It is from this perspective that I record these happenings into this blog. Welcome to Views from The Way Inn.