Tussilago farfara flos / Coltsfoot Flower Fluid Extract

**We have taken the decision to suspend sales of this product until further research has been done into the potential harmful effects of the PAs found in the herb. You can read more about this on our blog post ‘PAs in Medicinal Herbs.’ **

Description

Fluid Extract made by a process of hydro-ethanolic percolation, with a ratio of 1 part Coltsfoot Flower to 1 part liquid. Liquid comprises of 75% water and 25% sugar beet derived ethanol.

Tussilago farfara, commonly known as coltsfoot, is a plant in the groundsel tribe in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to Europe and parts of western and central Asia. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with yellow flowers that emerge in early spring and bear a close resemblance to the dandelions.

Coltsfoot can grow in damp or dry conditions and grows well in alkaline clay soil. It is usually found in places such as wastelands, on the side of the road or railway, hedge banks.

The botanical name, Tussilago, means ‘cough dispeller’. The herb has been used for this purpose and to provide relief from other respiratory disorders since pre-historic times.

Though the leaves and flowers are the commonly used parts, at times the root is also used.

It has had uses in traditional medicine, but the discovery of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the plant has resulted in liver health concerns. The pyrrolizidine alkaloids are found in highest levels in the root.

Packaging

Product is supplied in amber PET bottles with tamper evident screw tops. This keeps the contents fresh and protected from light. Look out for the QR code on the label - you can scan this with your smartphone to download the Certificate of Analysis document for this product.

What is a Fluid Extract?

A herbal fluid extract is a concentrated extract of one or more herbs. The liquid in a fluid extract is a combination of alcohol and water. A fluid extract must contain at least 20% alcohol for preservation purposes. Alcohol concentrations tend to vary between 20% and 60%, but can be as high as 90% in some circumstances. At Herbal Apothecary we generally produce fluid extracts with alcohol concentrations of 25% - 45%. We use ethanol derived from sugar beat.

How Is A Fluid Extract Made?

To produce Tussilago farfara flos / Coltsfoot Flower Fluid Extract we combine a quantity of herb with an equal liquid. The herb, alcohol and water is placed in a production vessel suitable for the size of the batch.

Traditionally, fluid extracts have been made by a process of maceration. This is where the herb sits in the liquid and over a period of time the plant cells break down. This allows the plant matter to be released into the liquid. Occasionally the producer might agitate the mixture to help the process along.

At Herbal Apothecary we have spent decades improving our fluid extract production processes. We use a system called Hydro-Ethanolic Percolation. Percolation is where liquid slowly passes through the herb, from top to bottom. In our case, the liquid is not simply passed through the herb once and then collected. Instead, it is continually cycled through the herb. Hydro-Ethanolic Percolation is a combination of maceration and traditional percolation. The circulation of liquid through a spray head agitates the herb, helping the key chemical compounds to be released into the liquid.

Our production vessels are primarily stainless steel. We use low voltage (24v) pumps to circulate the liquid. We have also developed a system of float switches and relays. These ensure the pumps only activate when an adequate level of liquid is present in the sump at the bottom of the vessel. It can take some time for the liquid to filter through the herb.

We produce most of our fluid extracts using dried herbs, although we sometimes use fresh. It's important that the size of the pieces of herb in the production vessel are small enough for the alcohol to thoroughly penetrate. No prior processing is required for flowers and leaves which are smaller and more delicate. However, for roots, bark and berries which tend to be tougher and larger we use herbs which are diced up into small pieces. This ensures that the maximum amount of plant material can be extracted into the liquid.

The manufacturing process takes 7 days to complete. Once the process is finished, the herb is pressed to extract every last drop of precious liquid. The Tussilago farfara flos / Coltsfoot Flower Fluid Extract is filtered and then stored in bulk containers, before being bottled in smaller 250ml, 500ml and 1000ml quantities.

Click here if you'd like to know more about our herbal tincture manufacturing technology. At Herbal Apothecary we are committed to research - we want to provide a robust evidence base for the products we produce. As a result we review our manufacturing systems and processes in order to ensure we're making best use of the raw ingredients.