FRESH FEVERFEW TTINCTUREINCTURE

Pick and weigh your herbs. Let’s say you have 200g of fresh feverfew leaves. Take a sample portion of this, say 20g, and dry it in the oven. Let’s say you end up with 8.15g. To work out the proportion of dry matter, divide the dry weight by the fresh weight: 8.15g / 20g = 0.41 (or 41%). The water content is therefore 59%.

• For your tincture, take the 200g fresh feverfew (it will actually be 180g but for this exercise let’s say it’s 200g) and work out the dry proportion using the above method: 200g x 0.41 = 82g. Therefore the water content is 118ml. • To work out the menstruum (or solvent) for a 1:5 tincture (one part herb to five parts menstruum): 82g dry matter x 5 = 410ml. • Next, work out the amount of alcohol required. I typically use vodka and you will find the highest proof easily obtainable is 80 proof (40% alcohol). If you can get higher than that, all the better. A 40% alcohol tincture is therefore: 0.4 x 410ml = 164ml alcohol. • Next, work out the water required: 410ml menstruum – 164ml alcohol = 246ml water.

Finally, work out how much water to add, since the fresh herb already contains water. So 246ml total water – 118ml water content in the fresh herb = 128ml. • Now you can make your

tincture. Chop the fresh herbs as finely as possible, then place in a blender. Add 164ml alcohol and 128ml water, then roughly blend. Pour into a sterilised glass jar, and push down to remove any air bubbles. The herbs must remain covered. Cover the jar tightly and place in a warm room out of direct sunlight. Turn the jar once a day. After four to six weeks, strain into a clean jar (discard the herbs) and use a few drops each day as a preventative for migraines and tension headaches.

Note: Feverfew should not be taken during pregnancy.