Dandelion Root Herbal Tincture

Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale) Herbal Tincture

by Liane Moccia

Dandelion root is a key detoxifying herb that gently stimulates the liver and gall bladder to clear waste products from the body. This tincture will be used as a gentle liver tonic in the following dosage (as recommended in James Green’s The Herbal Medicine-Maker’s Handbook):

Dosage:  5 – 15 ml, 3-4 times per day.

Maceration Process:

The dandelions and their roots were picked from a large field in the front yard of my mother’s home in Pennsylvania. We know the area is not treated with pesticides or other chemicals. After digging up the roots I separated the leaves for salad and began preparing the roots.

After scrubbing the root very thoroughly, I then chopped the root into smaller pieces and weighed the final amount:  149 grams.

Because this is fresh root, I am making a 1:2 weight to volume tincture. The root weight was 149 grams so 298 ml of menstruum (vodka -rounded up to 300 ml) was added to the jar.

190 proof vodka would have been the ideal menstruum for a fresh root tincture, but I was only able to find 100 proof vodka (50% alcohol).

 

After adding 300 ml of vodka the mixture was blended in the blender, then poured back into the jar.

I placed the following label on the jar, shook, and placed in the pantry to macerate:

Dandelion Root Tincture, 1:2, 50% alcohol (100 proof vodka)

I shook the tincture daily, and on day 15 I poured the mixture through a stainless steel mesh strainer.  I took the remaining marc and squeezed it through a cheese cloth to get all the liquid out.

The final tincture was poured into individual dropper bottles and labeled: Dandelion Root Tincture, 1:2, 50% alcohol, May 16, 2017