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Why do some products contain ethanol? - McDowell's Herbal Treatments

The herbs that we use in our mixes are called herbal extracts. This is a process when there plant material is soaked in a liquid mix of water and ethanol (which is alcohol). The ethanol content is a much better solvent of many of the active constituents in the plant material.

When using an ethanol and water extract of herbal material, you have a concentrated and effective herbal medicine. We use drop dosing of herbal medicine which allows us to get an effective dose in with a very small volume of liquid. This improves compliance and palatability - which in turn improves results!

There are also varying amounts of ethanol concentration within different herbal medicines. This is because some plant active constituents, such as resins do not extract well without high concentrations of ethanol.
Other constituents, such as tannins are better extracted in a lower concentration of ethanol.

The ethanol content also has a secondary effect of acting as a preservative. This allows a long shelf life of the herbal medicines, as opposed to teas which will only stay fresh for 24 hours at room temperature, or a few days in the fridge.

Teas are also not as concentrated as herbal extracts. This can make getting a therapeutic dose difficult without large volumes of water.

Dried herbs are an issue for monogastric animals such as dogs, cat and humans. Without the ability to break down the large amounts of cellulose found in herbal medicines as dry bulky herbs, there is much less of the active constituents that are absorbed into the body. It would also be very difficult to get a dog or a cat to eat sufficient dried herbs to be therapeutic in the first place.

Even herbivores like horses and cows which are able to break down the large amounts of fibrous herbal materials can benefit from a more concentrated and efficient dose of herbs in the form of an extract. They are absorbed very rapidly, and require very little energy to be utilised by the body. This is ideal when working with sick animals, or animals with digestive issues. This is also much more effective for fussy animals which are not likely to eat the entire ‘dose’ of herbal material.

The liver is very effective at detoxifying the small amount of Ethanol found in the herbal extracts. Ethanol is a natural by product of the fermentation process, and often in nature animals would be expose to small amounts of ethanol when eating fallen and rotten fruit.

If you would like some help to determine the best protocol to use for your pet, please send me through some information on your dog and I can tailor a suitable protocol for their health needs.

Kind Regards
Kerrie Hyland

Naturopath
ATMS number 18350
Bachelor Health Science- Naturopathy
Bachelor Animal Science- Canine and Equine Science

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