HERB - heat, preservatives, etc.

[Walter J. Wakefield]

As far as heating the herbs in the oil, yes, that would have been a
standard period practice.  And of course the blender method is not. 
However, Gerard, in his recipe for oil of St. John's wort, puts the
(mashed) herb in a glass (jar) with wine, olive oil, and oil of
turpentine and sets it in the sun for 8-10 days.  He then says to boil it
in a kettle of water with some straw in the bottom.  This sounds a lot
like a double boiler to me.  But he is letting everything stand some
days, to get a good extraction, and not relying on heat alone to extract
the goodies.  So I'm thinking that a combination of practices might have
been used???

We do know that some herbs are changed, and a few destroyed by heat,
although I can't think of any really good examples at the moment. 
Volatile oils, such as some of the mints, tend to be driven off by heat,
which is why I always add any essential oils at the end.  I wonder if the
harmful PAs in comfrey would be broken down by heat???  Apparently the
allantion is not adversely affected (one of the principle healing agents
in comfrey).

As for the keeping qualities of my salve, I always make it with clove
oil, which is definately a preservative, but I think the most important
preservative is the beeswax.  I also put this up as a massage oil, which
does have the clove oil in it, but not the beeswax (obviously).  The
salve keeps longer than the oil.  After about a year, the oil starts to
smell, um, off - not really *bad*, just - off.  The salve lasts longer
(except mostly we use it up).  The salve is also better for itching and
insect bites than the oil.  And, as I mentioned, the beeswax provides a
bit of moisture barrier - really handy for things like diaper rash. 
Otherwise they are about the same.  

Suzanna, the herbalist


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