Ideas on a ethanol tincture *reframed*

[DK_one]

To make it short, a pulverized cacti of 6kg
Swim Took an amount an throw it in 96% ethanol.
Swim looking for a tincture with this.

Edit:

Is there anything wrong with reducing/evaporating the tincture to, say, 250ml, starting from 1L with an estimated 3.5kg of fresh starting material?

Is there maybe an alkaloid loss during evaporation?
or was there too much material per liter of alcohol anyway? (Not enough space for all the cacti content to move over)?

 

[Transform]

Another one that slipped under the radar…

The natural salt form of mescaline, M malate, isn't especially soluble in ethanol, as far as I'm aware.

Is there maybe an alkaloid loss during evaporation?

Not through evaporation under normal conditions, although unpredictable effects may arise in crude extracts. It's best to avoid excessive heat and the consequent caramelisation since this is more likely to remove mescaline from availabilty.

I'm guessing you added the dried powder equivalent of 3.5kg fresh to your litre of ethanol. evaporating that down by ³/₄ will likely throw down some sediment which may be holding onto some actives.

Any updates?

 

[DK_one]

Yeah, i evaped 0,5L to 250ml just by Ventilator on it.
No such sediment.
I use a few ml here there as Energizer for daily...
Maybe no bright idea since cross tolerances to tryptamines ....

But honestly if I will work a cactus again. Pulverized is far better.

And I guess the ethanol is not longer or better for storing?

 

[Transform]

I guess the ethanol is not longer or better for storing?

I've added ethanol to water-only brews to bring up the ABV for long-term storage. It's a very good preservative that way. Medicinal tinctures are typically rated to have a shelf-life of five years.

 

[DK_one]

You know the life span for Pulver? It was said somewhere (erowid maybe) that it is almost infinite for cacti.

And thanks for the information. But, what % is the borderline for labeling of medical?

 

[Transform]

Yes, cactus powder should last a long time, but if insects get in there, they can destroy it. Tincture above 22% ABV should last indefinitely - a medicinal shelf life is more of a guideline based on commercial products. If you've not used a brew within five years it's worth a rethink, or should be given to someone who needs it, perhaps. That said, I just used a tincture of sweet bay bark that's nearly eight years old, but it's not really the same as cactus.

 

[DK_one]

Dunno bay bark, but yeah I got a bit of more then I need of the tincture.

Already regret not made it vise versa in amounts of tincture : Pulver

And the biggest regret is that I did not even think about rooting the top part of the cacti until now!
Sometimes I really don't get my own brain...

 

[Transform]

Dunno bay bark,

That's ok, most people would draw a blank there. It was just a real-life example I had right in front of me, in my cup of coffee.

Pulver

Powder, in case anyone was confused
I suppose with tincture, especially if it's below a certain strength cactus-wise, there's the question of how much alcohol, if any, one is willing to drink. Consequently, there's a high chance you'd have to evaporate off some or all of the ethanol before use.

A while ago I had some cactus pulp left over after being brewed a couple of times at the most and had to leave it before doing any further brews, so I decided to preserve it with strong vodka. After it had sat in the cupboard for a couple of years I finally got around to decanting what had now become a cactus liqueur away from the sediment. The result was surprisingly palatable, only slightly bitter, and had picked up some sweetness, presumably from the slow degradation of the cactus mucilage.

Ergo, don't be afraid to hang onto your tincture for a while - it may end up maturing nicely.

It's also possible to add the strained tincture back onto a new batch of potent cactus powder to bring the strength up a bit, but remember that there will be a lot of potential yield left in the cactus sludge, more than with a single soak. In both cases, but especially with the 'double tincture', it's worth keeping the used cactus pulp for further extraction.

 

[DK_one]

Pretty nice information thank you.
Sadly a bit to late to make use of it.

The tincture I did Filter, and the potency is there it is a almost blackish liquid.
1/3 of the original powder is stored as powder to use it as it is.

For now I'm happy, but guess I will make use of your post in future!
*Cheers*