Solas Integrated Health Inc.2002 

​There Is a Place for Concentrated Preparations, but…

While I often recommend beginning with a properly prepared cup of tea, I want to be clear: tinctures, extracts, and oils absolutely have their place. These preparations, however, concentrate specific active constituents of a plant. In situations requiring targeted, measurable, and sometimes stronger physiological influence, concentrated extracts can be appropriate and clinically useful. What has changed over time is not the plant, but the method. 

 

Traditional herbal practice relied primarily on infusions and decoctions. Water was the extracting medium. The preparation was often strong, depending on the quantity of plant material and the length of steeping, but it remained a WHOLE - PLANT, aqueous extraction. The body received the plant in a broader, more balanced phytochemical profile rather than in isolated or highly concentrated fractions.

 

Modern extraction techniques allow us to isolate, intensify, and standardize particular compounds. That can be beneficial, and in some cases necessary, but it also shifts an herb closer to pharmacology than nourishment.  An herb’s active constituents, its physical and chemical properties, its phyto-chemical analysis, and biological influence are important considerations. Herbal medicine is, after all, medicine!

 

The STANDARDIZATION of herbal TINCTURES is KEY and a principle that is regulated. We need to know the ratio of active chemicals in the tincture! You can use home-made tinctures on yourself. Selling them to the public not only crosses the regulation line, but the consumer SAFETY line. Stability testing, third party analysis and all the benefits accrued now from decades of an alternative medicine history, are not to be ignored because they are there to PROTECT the consumer. It also denigrates the work of professionals and continues to put this industry at risk of suppression by Health Canada. Mavericks and rebels producing unregulated product simply draws attention and undermines those who have been working legitimately not only to protect their clients and patients but the industry itself. 

 

Modern Medicine based on Herbal Traditions

It is worth remembering that many conventional medications have their origins in traditional plant use:

• Willow bark led to the development of salicylic acid and eventually aspirin.

• Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) was the source of digitalis, used in cardiac medicine.

• Numerous other drugs trace their lineage to botanical medicine.

 

In these examples, a single constituent was isolated, standardized, and transformed into a pharmaceutical agent.That is not inherently negative. It is simply a different application.

 

My emphasis on TEA  is not a rejection of modern herbal preparations. It is a reflection of context. For individuals on multiple medications, for those who are sensitive, or for those seeking gentle regulatory support, beginning with an infusion is often the wiser and safer entry point.

 

There are times when concentration is indicated.There are times when gentleness is sufficient. Discernment is the practice.

 

Nourishing Herbs vs. Pharmacologically Active Herbs

Herbs can serve different purposes depending on how they are prepared and the dose used. Nourishing herbs are typically used in teas, infusions, and decoctions. They provide gentle, broad-spectrum support to the body, encouraging balance, resilience, and healthy function. The whole plant is involved, and the effect is subtle — a quiet support rather than a forceful intervention. Chinese herbs often show up in a healing soup!!

 

Pharmacologically active herbs are those in which specific constituents are concentrated in tinctures, extracts, or oils. These preparations can produce strong physiological effects, sometimes akin to medications. They have their place, particularly when a targeted effect is desired or when clinical guidance is available.  The distinction is not about “better or worse.” It is about purpose, safety, and context.

 

For most people — especially those on medications, who are sensitive, or who are exploring an herb for the first time — starting with a tea is often the safest, most respectful way to work with plants.

Concentrated preparations are powerful tools, but they require discernment and care.In herbal medicine, gentleness and observation often provide as much wisdom as potency.

 

1. Dose & Concentration Matter

A tea (infusion or decoction):

•Extracts primarily water-soluble constituents

•Delivers them in lower concentration

•Slows intake (it is sipped, not swallowed as a bolus)

•Naturally limits total dose because of volume and taste

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In contrast:

•Tinctures (alcohol extracts) pull both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble compounds

•Standardized extracts concentrate specific active constituents

•Capsules can deliver many times what a cup of tea would contain

•The dose is ingested rapidly

 

From a pharmacology standpoint, lower concentration + slower ingestion = lower peak plasma levels, which generally means lower risk of adverse reactions.

 

2.Polypharmacy & Drug Interactions

For clients on multiple medications:

•Concentrated extracts are more likely to reach levels that meaningfully affect CYP450 liver enzymes

•Stronger extracts are more likely to influence neurotransmitters or blood pressure

•Alcohol-based tinctures may be inappropriate for certain populations

 

A tea typically delivers sub-pharmacologic or gently physiologic amounts, often below the threshold that significantly alters drug metabolism.This does not mean zero interaction risk.But it does mean the risk is generally lower.

 

3.Traditional Context

Historically, most herbal traditions used:

•Infusions

•Decoctions

•Light macerations

Highly concentrated standardized extracts are a modern development. Traditional herbal practice relied primarily on aqueous preparations, which tend to provide broader, gentler phyto-chemical exposure rather than isolated, concentrated constituents.

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4.When Tea Is Clearly Safer

Tea is often preferable when:

•The client is elderly

•The client is on multiple prescriptions

•The goal is mild digestive or nervous system support

•The herb is mildly active but not required in therapeutic doses

•You are introducing an herb for the first time

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5.Important Nuance

There are exceptions.Some herbs:

•Are poorly extracted in water

•Require specific standardization for therapeutic effect

•Are unsafe even as tea (e.g., certain cardiac or strongly acting herbs)

 

In many cases, a simple cup of properly prepared tea offers a safer and more traditional entry point than concentrated extracts, particularly for those taking medications. The dose is gentler, the absorption slower, and the phytochemicals remain in their naturally balanced ratios.

 

Summary: Why I Often Recommend Tea First

 

After decades in nutrition practice, and after many years observing how herbs are used today, I often begin with the simplest preparation: a properly made cup of tea.

 

This is not because tinctures and extracts do not have their place. They do. Most often than not,  professional advice is recommended when using concentrated herbal tinctures, extracts or oils.  But concentration DOES change the conversation.

 

• A tea is an aqueous preparation.

• It extracts primarily water-soluble constituents in balanced proportions, much as herbs were traditionally prepared for generations.

• The dose is gentler.

• The intake is slower.

• The body has time to respond.

• For individuals taking prescription medications, especially those on multiple medications, this  really matters.

 

Concentrated extracts, tinctures and oils can deliver higher levels of active compounds more rapidly. In some cases, they may influence liver enzyme activity, neurotransmitter pathways, or blood pressure.

 

A tea, by contrast, generally provides a milder physiologic influence rather than a strong pharmacologic one.

In my practice, I ask:

•What is the goal?

•What medications are involved?

•What is the person’s constitution?

•Is a gentle nudge sufficient?   Often, it is.

 

A cup of well-prepared tea allows us to observe response before moving toward stronger preparations. It respects both the plant and the person. Herbal medicine does not need to be forceful to be effective, just as true power does not come from force.

Practice wisdom before potency because plants were infused long before we concentrated them into tinctures or oils. Health is defined by balance and regulation.

 

I insist that, “sometimes the wisest place to begin is with a kettle.”    You can quote me if you like. Just say its from an old herbalist named Nella, who began her herbal medicine journey in 1969 at 16 years of age, while still in highschool using the Emerson College of Herbology course. Emerson has a history dating back to 1888, when Max Thuna immigrated to the United States from Austria. He was a Master Herbalist, and eventually relocated to Canada. He opened twenty-five herbal shops across the country and his son, Jack Thuna, a practicing herbalist and Homeopathic Doctor founded the Emerson College of Herbology in the mid 1950s. The college closed its doors in 1992, but the legacy of herbal medicine according to the THUNA family was the foundation for many of us early practitioners of the 70s, 80s and to this present day.  Cheers!

a practicing Homeopathic Doctor. He founded Emerson College of Herbology in the mid-1950s in order to spread his families understanding of the natural healing elements of herbs to others.