Tinctures, alcohol making/using

Make up a strong tincture of iodine using about 4 ounces or 1/2 measuring cup of wood alcohol (if wood alcohol is unavailable, denatured or rubbing alcohol can be used). 

To make a tincture, which is a hydroalcoholic (water and alcohol) extract, use 1 part semifresh berries for every 3 parts of solution made up of 70 percent ethyl alcohol and 30 percent water. The dosage is 3 to 4 milliliters (60 to 80 drops), three to four times a day. Eclectic practitioners believed that the best preparation of Serenoa is made with the fresh ripe berries. The extract should have a strong, ethereal, aromatic flavor and will precipitate when it is mixed in large amounts with water. In small amounts it produces an opalescent mixture. If it is rubbed between the fingers, a greasy sensation occurs, and the pronounced aroma of the berries is quite obvious. 

Concretes. Concretes are produced by extraction of flowers, leaves, or roots, usually with hydrocarbon solvents. After removal of the solvent by distillation, the concrete is obtained as a thick, waxy residue. Such materials are used in some fine fragrances, but the waxes they contain can give rise to solubihty problems. Eor this reason, concretes are often dissolved in alcohol to make tinctures, or in other low odor diluents. Production of concretes, especially flower concretes, usually takes place where the botanicals are grown since the odors of such materials deteriorate rapidly after harvesting. 

Undoubtedly the most familiar use of iodine is in tincture of iodine, which is so commonly used as an antiseptic. This consists of a solution of iodine and potassium iodide in alcohol and is one of the most effective antiseptics known. Iodine is used to make many useful compounds including sodium and potassium iodides, which are important laboratory reagents silver iodide, which (like silver bromide) is used in photography and numerous organic compounds of iodine which are useful in drugs, in the production of dyes, and so forth. 

Are you old enough to remember tincture of iodine Before the introduction of antibacterial ointments and sprays for the treatment of minor cuts and burns, tincture of iodine, a mixture of iodine and alcohol, was a common disinfectant for the skin. The pure iodine used to make this solution consists of diatomic molecules, I2, whose mutual attractions are strong enough to form a solid at room temperature. Because the only bond within the I2 molecule is the nonpolar 1-1 bond, we do not expect normal dipole-dipole attractions between iodine molecules. Why, then, do they attract each other strongly ... 

A food extract, such as a lemon extract, is really not a chemical extraction but consists of the essential oils that are mechanically pressed out of lemon skin and then kept in a 45% solution of alcohol. A drug extract is called a tincture. Tinctures are usually alcohol solutions and are liquid-solid extractions. Examples are the tincture of iodine, oil of wintergreen, oil of clove, and oil of peppermint. Cosmetic extracts such as ambergris, musk, castor, and benzoin, are called essences and are used to make perfumes. 

As atmospheric pressure is an important element in the operation, it will not answer to shut it off by closing the top of the displacer without making some compensation and, therefore, a communication between the upper and lower vessels is established by means of a latent tube arrangement, f. In this manner the apparatus is kept close, and the evaporation of alcohol prevented, while the pressure produced is distributed throughout the apparatus, and rendered uniform. As the runnings are clear, filtration is rarely necessary. The quantity of alcohol thus consumed need not be more than sufficient to exhaust the material and the resulting tincture must therefore be diluted to the proper strength. For perfumes, deodorized alcohol must always be used. 

Echinacea may be used as a tincture, tea, powder, poultice, or suppository. To make a tincture, use fresh flowerheads of E. purpurea in 1 2 ratio with 95 percent alcohol (for. angustifolia dry root, use 1 5 in 70 percent alcohol). 

Bromine is a dark red, dense liquid with a strong peppery odor. It is highly toxic and can cause serious chemical burns. A compound of bromine, silver bromide (AgBr), is used in the manufacture of photographic film, as is silver iodide (Agl). Iodine is a solid existing as dark purple crystals. It is used as an antiseptic called tincture of iodine, which is a 50% solution of iodine in alcohol. A compound of iodine, potassium iodide (KI), is used as a additive to table salt to make iodized salt. 

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