FAQ / What are extracts?

Liquid extracts, or tinctures as they are many times referred to, are made in three different ways. The extraction method that is used by Sage Woman Herbs, Ltd. for each individual herb is determined by the constituents of that particular herb.

Herbs with are unstable, and herbs that extract easily into alcohol, are generally extracted using the fresh plant maceration process. In this method, it is critical that high quality plant material is used, picked or dug at the peak of its growing season. The peak for each herb is dependent upon whether you are processing berry, leaf, or flower. For high quality tincture, this material should be processed within 24 hours or less of harvesting. The plant material must be chopped up into an alcohol medium called a menstrum. At Sage Woman Herbs, Ltd., we use only pure, pharmaceutical grade alcohol in our menstrum. After the plant has been allowed to soak and has been agitated daily for 4-6 weeks, the plant material is pressed out of the menstrum, and the menstrum is filtered. This is the finished tincture.

Another method that is used with certain herbs that are either not available in fresh form, such as Chinese herbs, or do not yeild their constituents easily, is the the percolation method. For this method, a glass cone is used, into which the plant material is packed. An alcohol/water medium is poured over the herb and collected at the bottom of the cone. This is a labor-intensive method that is rarely used by mass-producing tincture manufacturers, but it makes excellent tinctures.

The final method, which is used infrequently at Sage Woman Herbs, Ltd. is the cold maceration method using dried herbs. This is generally an inferior method for most herbs, however it is the only method that can be used for resins such as benzoin or myrrh that cannot be processed any other way due to their high resin content.

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