Alcohol tinctures are extractions that dissolve nearly all of the relevant ingredients of an herb including alkaloids, resins and essential oils that cannot be extracted in water, vinegar, or glycerine. Alcohol based tinctures extract and concentrate a wider range of ingredients than other methods of extractions and preserve and stabilize the constituents and properties of the herb. Their potency is guaranteed for years, they are easily utilized by the body, and are convenient and always ready to be used.
There is a concern by some about the consumption of alcohol when taking tinctures. To address this concern, here is some research from The Family Herbal by Barbara and Peter Thesis.
"For centuries alcohol has been considered to be an optimal medium for preparing plant medications. From the point of view of the pharmaceutical chemist, alcohol is not only indispensable for extracting the active ingredients, it is also required to stabilize and preserve them. Alcohol has the ability to inhibit enzymatic or hydrolytic reactions in plant extracts as well as to limit microbe activity. In addition to its function as a solvent and preservative, alcohol also plays a role as a carrier substance for conveying active ingredients within the body. Alcohol increases the permeability of the mucous coat of the stomach. Alcohol promotes the re-absorption of small quantities of chemically unstable plant ingredients by way of a variety of mechanisms in the intestinal wall. In certain conditions, alcohol additionally supplements and promotes the healing effect on the target organs.
"Furthermore, minute quantities of alcohol seem to improve the resistance of the immune defense system (reticuloendothelial system) and also appears, surprisingly, able to protect against the threat of coronary arteriosclerosis and heart attack... In a quantity of alcohol amounting from 1g to a maximum of 40g per day - an average of one glass of wine a day. The dose of alcohol contained in (tinctures) usually does not exceed 4g to 8g per day... The danger of liver damage does not arise unless daily quantities of 140g or women and 210g for men are consumed for period of years..."
For pregnant women "the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome is greatest if a mother drinks three or more ounces of pure alcohol ...a day." (Intensive Care -New Hope for High-Risk Pregnancy, Dianne Hales and Timothy R.B. Johnson, MD, 1990). The amount in standard tincture dosages is well below these figures.
For those of you who must or wish to avoid the alcohol, at the time of consumption the dosage can be placed into hot water (105ºF) and the alcohol will evaporate by the time that the water is cool without affecting the quality of the tincture.
Disclaimers