What should I look for when I buy liquid herbal extracts or softgels?
1.) Look for sufficient alcohol amount and cold processing. Be aware of the production process that the herbs have gone through. Choose alcohol-containing extracts with a minimum of 20 percent alcohol. The alcohol acts as a preservative and prevents contamination of the herbs by fungus, bacteria and viruses. Alcohol levels higher than 20 percent are needed to extract many different herbs. For example, Milk Thistle and Cayenne need at least 95 percent alcohol in order to extract the active constituents. Echinacea and Goldenseal require 70 percent while herbs like Peppermint and Chamomile require a much lower alcohol percentage. When extracts are made from whole herbs ground cryogenically (cold grinding) minutes prior to extraction, no constituents are destroyed by friction-induced heat during the grinding process. Cold process kinetic maceration for fresh herbs or cold process percolation for dried herbs yields more active ingredients in finished extracts than in herbs processed by usin
