Check out the Witch Doctors article.
The
Vibrant Life product, Taheebo Life Tea, is made by an
exclusive and proprietary method to assure you of getting
the maximum amount of the active ingredients in a small
number of capsules.
Many people take "taheebo tea" by drinking a tea made by soaking, or brewing, or simmering, or boiling the bark of the tree. In some cases they use a "tea bag" filled with the bark to soak in water.
If you swallow the actual bark itself, no matter how finely ground, you get zero benefit because there is not enough solvent activity in the stomach to get any of the active components.
Click here for some sources of the usual type of Taheebo bark used for making your own tea.
There is some evidence that heat, particularly boiling water heat, damages some of the vital components of this bark.
Alcohol is an excellent solvent for any herbal product, and often you can find "tinctures" in the form of an alcohol based material with components of the herb dissolved. Typically these are made with both water and alcohol as the solvents so that the final "tincture" will be about 15% alcohol. Our Taheebo Life Tea has zero measurable alcohol in it.
In any event, the Vibrant Life procedure involves no heat or raised temperature.
We start with the bark from the inner lining of the tree. This is chopped into small pieces and then soaked in a mixture of alcohol and vegetable-sourced glycerin. There are some additional proprietary steps in this process which are deliberately omitted here.
After several days of this soaking,
at room temperature, the material is a light-brown
colored liquid with pieces of bark in it. The color
of this resulting liquid is caused by whatever has been
dissolved out of the bark.
Then this mass of alcohol/glycerin and bark pieces is put through a screen to capture the solid particles of bark, leaving a fairly light colored, brownish liquid. Because of the glycerin mixed with the alcohol, this liquid is oily.
This mixture is then placed in a vacuum chamber so that the lightest components, the alcohol, can escape. Still the temperature is not increased for this process. The natural evaporation of the alcohol, hastened by the vacuum chamber, results, after some days, in a "brown thin/liquid mud." This is the concentrated extract from the bark of the Taheebo, plus glycerin (which generally will NOT evaporate out of this mixture) and a negligible amount of remaining alcohol. Because of the glycerin this is a "oily mud" consistency and could not be "poured" into capsules.
This
mud is then mixed with "taheebo sawdust." This is the
bark of the tree, ground up into fine powder, and mixed
in with the mud so that the resulting material, even
though it is still "oily" from the glycerin, can be
processed through a capsule-filling machine. The
capsules are then filled with this material.
Based on the amount of bark used in the original batch, and based on the superior extraction results because of using alcohol and glycerin, and based on studies of this process, we calculate that the actual "Taheebo Extract" in each capsule is equivalent to what you would get in soaking enough bark in plain water to make seven cups of tea. This is an approximation, obviously, since there is no standard for how tea is made.
If you were to take 20 of these capsules, for instance, you would be taking the equivalent of about 140 cups of brewed tea.
Glycerin (also spelled glycerine) was discovered in 1779 by Scheele in the saponification products of olive oil. It has since been found as a common constituent of many fats and oils. It is technically a type of alcohol with the formula (C3H5[OH]3) and it combines with fatty acids such as palmitic, oleic or stearic to form triglycerides or fats. The glycerin is the backbone to which fatty acids attach in order to determine the type of fat. Glycerin also exists in a pure form in cod liver oil, egg yolks, the human brain and in the by-products of fermentation.
It is a clear, colorless liquid, of a thick, syrupy consistency, oily to the touch, odorless, very sweet and slightly warm to the taste.
Large quantities of glycerin are used for commercial purposes, to make cosmetics and other products for topical use. This is mostly extracted with harsh solvents as a by-product of the soap industry, with animal fats being the original source. For internal or medicinal use we recommend using only pure vegetable glycerin which is extracted from vegetable oils using superheated steam.
Glycerin can absorb nearly its own weight of tannic acid and 10% of glycerin added to a tincture with a high tannin content will keep the tannins in solution and prevent precipitation in the bottom of the bottle.
What is Glycerin used for?
Pure glycerin is toning and astringent and can be used to treat wounds. For more long term use it is required to be diluted with water or floral waters. In this form it becomes lubricating, emollient, soothing and healing to the skin and mucous membranes.
When mixed with floral waters (e.g. Rose water) and a few grains of borax, it makes a marvelous wash for chapped skin - hands, lips, face.
Glycerin readily mixes with volatile oils and this makes it an excellent ingredient in aromatherapy applications for dry, sore, irritated or chapped skin.
A mixture of glycerin and water is excellent for softening and loosening hard pieces of ear wax and can be used as ear drops for deafness due to wax build up.
Glycerin is notably antibacterial and may be used as a preservative in cosmetic or internal use products. It is very effective as a preservative in equal parts with fresh pressed plant juices, providing a shelf life of at least 6 months.
A small quantity of glycerin added to pills, suppositories or lozenges will prevent them from becoming hard or moldy. Glycerin suppositories are an effective remedy for habitual constipation and for hemorrhoids.
The solvent power of glycerin is about half the strength of pure ethyl alcohol. It is therefore best for those herbs and roots which have the lower requirement for solvent power.
Glycerin extracts are especially suited for children, alcoholics or those wishing to avoid alcohol for any reason.
GLYCERIN
Glycerin is a colorless and odorless fluid obtained from lard, tallow, and other oils, in various quantities. It has a peculiar sweetish taste, whence it has been called the sweet principle of oils. Its specific gravity is 1.260; it remains fluid indefinitely; is miscible with water and alcohol in all proportions; and has a sirupy consistence, and somewhat oily touch.
Glycerin was first obtained during the preparation of lead plaster. In this process, where litharge and olive oil are boiled together in water, the acids of the oil unite with the oxide of lead as a base, when the glycerin is set free and unites with the water. The liquid being decanted, any lead it may contain is separated by sulphuretted hydrogen and nitration, and the water is then evaporated from the glycerin. The same changes are effected when the soap-maker uses potassa and soda (instead of lead) as bases to combine with the margaric and stearic acid of fats–the glycerin being thus again set free in the presence of water, with which it at once mixes. Glycerin thus obtained, however, has a peculiar odor, from which it is scarcely possible to free it; and is not usable except to form certain classes of toilet-soaps. When fats are subjected to a high steam pressure in the presence of a moderate quantity of milk of lime, a lime soap is formed, and the glycerin is set free in a pure form. This is the present method of obtaining all good glycerin. Dr. C. Morfit, as quoted by the U. S. Dispensatory, thus describes the process in Silliman’s Journal, (2d series, Vol. XV:) "Melt one hundred pounds of tallow or lard in an iron-bound barrel, by a current of steam; and add to it fifteen pounds of lime made into a milk with two and a half gallons of water. Continue the steam for several hours, till complete saponification takes place. The acids of the oil unite with the lime to form an insoluble soap; and the glycerin remains in the water along with the excess of lime. After the liquid has cooled and settled, it is strained through a crash-cloth; the fluid concentrated carefully by steam heat, and treated with a current of carbonic acid to remove the lime as a carbonate; boiled again, and again allowed to settle. The clear liquid is finally strained off, and concentrated by driving off the water." This process gives a fine quality of glycerin at a low cost; and the lime soap may be treated with very dilute sulphuric acid to release the fats, which are then used for star candles.
Impurities and Tests: Chlorine is sometimes used in bleaching a poor quality of glycerin; and may be detected by making the liquid slightly blue with sulphate of indigo, and adding a little sulphuric acid, when the blue color will disappear if chlorine (more properly chloride of lime) be present. Oxalate of ammonia will detect the least trace of lime by forming an insoluble precipitate; hydrosulphuret of ammonia will make a black precipitate if any lead be present; and a solution of any baryta salt will vield a white cloud with the smallest trace of sulphuric acid.
Properties and Uses: Glycerin is not used internally to any extent as yet; though it has been spoken of as a substitute for cod-liver oil in phthisis. Its chief medicinal value is in external appliances, and as a solvent in various pharmaceutical preparations. It is softening to the skin; and may be used for irritable diseases of the surface, such as eczema, prurigo, lichen, herpes, etc. It has also been used for incrustations, as in lupus and syphilis. It is a popular application for chapped hands and lips. Many times it causes unpleasant stinging when applied to any abraded surface, which may be obviated by dilution with equal parts of water. The purest article is often quite unpleasant to mucous surfaces, as to the vagina; yet dilution will generally obviate this, and it may thus be used in ophthalmia, vaginitis, etc.–either alone, or with suitable medicaments added to it. It also supplies (apparently) the nutriment needed by the hair follicles; and may be used in dandruff and other forms of scurfy disease of the scalp; or medicated with lobelia and a little oak bark for falling off of the hair, for which such a preparation is of great value. Added in moderate quantities to poultices, it keeps them moist and prevents adherence to the surface; and for a similar action, it is used freely on wounds and sores which are to be dressed with lint. It softens dried cerumen in the ear; and has been used in deafness and various affections of the ear connected with dryness of the parts. A very little incorporated in a pill mass, or added to solid extracts, will keep them moist and prevent them from molding.
Glycerin possesses a peculiar and powerful solvent property, and is also an excellent preservative. For both these qualities, it is second only to alcohol, and deserves to come into considerable use. Relaxants macerated in it have too mawkish a taste to be always acceptable; but strong stimulants and bitter tonics–as capsicum, quassia, gentiana, aloes, etc.–have their unpleasantness somewhat covered by it. It acts sufficiently on all such substances, when diluted with its own bulk of water, or even more diluted, and still is thoroughly preservative; and as such dilution reduces the mawkish taste, it is probable that the profession can find much advantage in treating numerous agents with it, instead of using so much alcohol as is now customary. Such a use would be appropriate in treating cinchona, quinia, salicin, santonin, and some other vegetable alkaloids; and it would be an object of interest to inquire experimentally how far it will solve myrrh and other gum resins. Many of the essential oils will dissolve in it readily. It is also highly antiseptic, and preservative of animal tissues; but structures preserved in it become slowly softened.
Pharmaceutical Preparations: In ointments, it may be used to advantage in various combinations. Stiffened to any desirable degree by being heated with finely-powdered starch, (thirty or sixty grains to a fluid ounce,) it may be mixed with sulphur in making sulphur ointment; or triturated with the solid extracts, as of celastrus, lycopus, or hydrastis, when these are to be used in salves. Mr. Ricky proposes the following Glycerin Ointment: Spermaceti, half an ounce; oil of almonds, two fluid ounces; glycerin, one fluid ounce; white wax, a drachm. Melt all but the glycerin, pour into a Wedgewood mortar, add the glycerin, and stir thoroughly till cold. It is useful for chaps and excoriations. (U. S. D.) The Journal of Pharmacy commends a mixture, by weight, of five parts glycerin and four parts yolk of eggs, rubbed in a mortar. It is soft and unctuous, and forms an air-tight and soothing application to abraded surfaces, sore nipples, tetter, and irritated affections of the skin, including erysipelas. It will keep indefinitely, and has the advantage of being easily removed with water. Crusts of vaccine virus may be dissolved in glycerin, and kept indefinitely; though it is not fully settled that the virtues of the vaccine are unaffected. Dr. J. P.Easter, of Highland county, Ohio, called my attention to the use of it in ophthalmia; and I have been highly pleased in a limited use of a strong infusion of hydrastis added to an equal quantity of glycerin, with myrrh or capsicum in quantities to suit the indications.
Menstruum Guidelines: (Revised 8/28/99)
by Robyn Klein,
Herbalist AHG
Sweetgrass School of Herbalism
Bozeman, Montana
robyn@rrreading.com
What is a Tincture?
Tinctures are concentrated liquid extracts of herbs.
Various kinds of solvents are used to extract the soluble
constituents of herbs. The insoluble constituents stay
with the herb when the process is finished and is
discarded after the herb is processed.
Tinctures are used rather than teas (infusions or
decoctions of plants using hot water) because they can be
preserved longer and can be used in smaller doses than
teas. Sometimes they are preferred because they can
extract the properties of the herb better than by water
alone.
Tinctures or liquid extracts can be made using fresh or
dried herb material. Tinctures are made according to a
ratio of
WEIGHT of herb to VOLUME of menstruum.
If using fresh plant material a 1:2 ratio (weight to
volume) is used. The general rule of thumb is to use
straight Everclear (95% alcohol) for the menstruum when
making tinctures from fresh plant material.
Example: 1 ounce of fresh peppermint to 2 ounces of
Everclear.
If using dried plant material use 1:5 ratio (weight to
volume). The general rule of thumb is to add water to the
menstruum for dried plant material (any percentage of
alcohol between 50%-85%).
Example: 2 ounces of dried peppermint to 10 ounces of
menstruum.
What is a Menstruum?
A menstruum is a liquid solvent (or solvent combination)
that one uses to extract plant constituents from an herb.
Water is a very good solvent but is not a good
preservative. Solvents most often used in herbal medicine
to make tinctures or extracts are: water, alcohol, and
glycerine. Vinegar can be used but, like water, does not
have a long shelf life (must be used within a couple of
weeks and refrigerated). Vinegar is also not strong
enough to extract non-polar constituents such as volatile
oils and resins.
Glycerine is a very good solvent. It is a type of alcohol
itself and so it can extract some alcohol-soluble
constituents. But alcohol is better at extracting herbs
high in alcohol-soluble constituents.
Glycerine and alcohol are also good preservatives of herb
extracts so they are both favored these days as
menstruums.
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