How to Prepare The Most Powerful Medicinal Herbal Extract from Any Plant

I think it goes without saying that the plant kingdom is our medicine chest (or poison). Every culture on earth has a tradition of using plants to keep us healthy and alive.
But how do we prepare them so that we can actually take into our bodies all of the beneficial compounds? The human digestive system is not always up to the task of breaking down plant fibers. All of these compounds are essentially locked up within the body of the plant. How can we release them?

Most people would make a tea out of the herb. The problem with this is that many of the compounds within plants (i.e. essential oils) are not water soluble. So, no matter how long you let it steep, only water soluble compounds will dissolve into the solution.

The next best thing is to make a tincture. This is the same thing as making tea, except a solution of ethanol (grape alcohol) and water is used. The alcohol has an affinity for all the compounds hidden inside the plant material and pulls it out. Then it's strained to get rid of the plant material and you now have a tincture containing all the compounds that had been locked up in the plant. Many people think this is the most potent form of herbal medicine, however there is more...

The mineral salts! Instead of throwing out the plant material it's incinerated to white ash, washed with distilled water, filtered then the water evaporated away.
Pure, white crystals form. The are the water soluble mineral salts the of plant. They are purified by repeating the process. Each time, the salt becomes whiter. A pound of plant material produces about a teaspoon of salts.

So. Why are these mineral salts so important? Well, first off, you want to get the whole plant. The salts are alkaline. When they are added back into the tincture it raises the PH level and converts the oily compounds into water soluble compounds.

So adding back the mineral salts is the missing key. It truly makes the extraction complete. The result is called a "Spagyric". This process was written down by the famous Paracelsus in the 16th century but somehow we forgot all about it!

I first learned about this method when I began my study in Alchemy. There is more. Much, more.

Anyone else interested in this stuff?