Does alcohol affect the healing properties of tinctures? Does the spirit, so often used to preserve herbs and fruits, enhance their healing effects? Check how alcohol affects the herbs and fruits from which you prepare homemade liqueurs and wines.

Does alcohol affect the healing properties of tinctures?

Fruits, herbs and other raw materials on the basis of which tinctures are made, e.g. honey or nuts, contain many he alth-promoting compounds, such as: vitamins and minerals, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, organic acids, essential oils and others .Alcohol enhances the healing effectof these raw materials, because during the production oftincturesor wines, a process called extraction takes place, i.e. the process of extracting herbs or fruits with alcohol, these valuable ingredients and active compounds. In this way, they are perfectly preserved and do not break down even after a long time. Thanks to alcohol, tinctures or wines not only retain their freshness and healing properties for longer, but also have a stronger effect on the human body, because alcohol, in small doses, dilates blood vessels and gets into the bloodstream faster with valuable substances.

Alcohol strength and the properties of the tincture

The healing value of a given tincture depends on what products (fruits, herbs, etc.) and the way it was prepared. At home, the maceration method is most often used. It consists in soaking some raw material in a suitable solvent (in the case of alcohol tinctures) in order to soften it or extract a specific component. It should be remembered that the concentration of alcohol used in the production of the tincture is of great importance. The larger it is, the better the preservative properties will be, but it will also be difficult to extract all the beneficial ingredients of a given raw material. Therefore, fresh herbs are usually prepared with high-percentage alcohol - 70-96%, and dry herbs and fruits with 40-70% alcohol. The maceration time is also important, depending on the type of product. Fresh herbs need to be macerated in alcohol for a few hours, dried herbs and fruit take several weeks. It is worth knowing that the stronger the healing properties of a given raw material, the smaller amounts are needed to prepare the tincture.

Alcohol and cancer

Alcohol enhances the healing effects of fruit

In 2007, scientists published an article in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture that found that some fruits can become he althier when mixed with a small amount of alcohol. Research from scientists shows that ethanol enhances the antioxidant effects of strawberries and blackberries. A team of Dr. Korakot Chanjiraku from Kasetsart University in Thailand and researchers from the US Department of Agriculture (US DoA) have been working on ways to keep strawberries fresh during storage. Meanwhile, by accident, they observed that flooding them with alcohol increased the concentration of antioxidants and their activity related to fighting free radicals.

Important

Long-term intake of home-made tinctures or wines may cause the opposite of the intended effect, i.e. activate enzymes in the body that metabolize beneficial compounds found in such drinks, thus weakening their healing effects.

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