How to Make Salvia Extract
Intro on how to make Salvia extract:
This article is meant to instruct a person on how they can easily make Salvia Extract from Salvia Divinorum leaf. You can grow your own Salvia Divinorum at home or buy salvia elsewhere. When making your own salvia extract, be aware that different strains have different strengths. With salvia extraction, you are only amplifying the natural properties of whatever strain you chose to use.
What we know about Salvia Chemistry is that the active ingredient that the plant contains is known as Salvinorin A, this is what you will focus on extracting. This process of extraction yields 10 grams +/- of unstandardized 5x-10x salvia extract, depending on how much you purify it. For 5x strength, complete parts A through D of the instructions. For 10x strength complete all instruction parts.
The instructions and prep list should be followed to the best of your ability. Using any low grade tools could be a danger to your health. If you are clumsy consider buying extras so you wont need to go back out for something. If you are using equipment you already have around the house, clean it up and make it spotless before you get started.
There will be a lot of down time between major parts of the process, be patient and use timers. The whole extraction process should be done in very low light. Exposure to direct sunlight can lower the strength of the extract you are trying to make. Printing out instructions and reading them over several times for clarification can be a big help for first time extractors.
What you need to get started:
- ½ yard of cheesecloth or a fine metal strainer. No plastic.
- 1 glass jar, big enough to hold max 1 liter of fluid – about the size of a pickle jar or mason jar. No plastic.
- 1 glass eyedropper (the kind with a rubber squeeze on the end). No plastic.
- 1 large Pyrex tray – casserole sized should be fine. No plastic.
- 1 large aluminum kitchen pan (a sauce pan works too). No plastic.
- 1 electrical hot plate. The kind you use in a lab or on a camping trip.
- 1 electric coffee grinder
- 2 liters of 99% pure pro-panone Acetone. If acetone is not available you can use 99% purity: Isopropanol, Rubbing Alcohol, and Isopropyl Alcohol.
- 300 milliliters of Naphtha, most commonly found in lighter fluid. You can buy more if you want to purify higher than 10x strength.
- 100 grams of Salvia Divinorum leaf
- 1 scale for weighing your leaf, precision up to .01 is best but .1 will work also. Must be able to handle 100g total weight minimum.
- 1 timer
- 1 medium sized fan
Extraction Process Instructions:
Part A: Dividing and processing the dried salvia leaf
Use your scale to take 10 grams of leaf out from the 100 grams your are starting with, this is for later use in the process. Keep the 10 grams safe, secure, and somewhere you wont forget. The remaining 90 grams of leaf need to be ground to a fine powder in the coffee grinder. Be nice and gentle with your coffee grinder, do not grind for more than 1 minute at a time. If you grind nonstop the machine may overheat or break. After a few minutes of on and off grinding, you should have the fine green powder. BE CAREFUL when you remove the coffee grinder lid, if you rush it will explode green powder everywhere and this will waste a ton of your leaf.
Part B: Breaking down the ground leaf to extract the Salvinorin A
possible – it is dissolving from the ground leaf into the acetone. After your 8 hour wait, pour the liquid through a strainer of your choice (cheesecloth or metal, whatever you bought as long as it isn’t plastic), into the Pyrex container.
Part C: Let the acetone liquid settle
The acetone solution you just strained needs to sit for 8 to 16 hours in the Pyrex container, overnight is best to reduce possible exposure to light. Again, keep this solution in a safe and secure location to keep it free from contamination. After this waiting period there will be sediment or a layer of slime looking goo on the bottom of your Pyrex container. The liquid which has separated should be poured off back into the clean saucepan. The goo sediment should stick to the bottom of the container, try not to let any slide into the saucepan with the liquid.
Part D: Evaporate the liquid in a well ventilated area.
You will need to take your saucepan full of the acetone liquid into a well ventilated area. Put the saucepan on your hotplate, with the hotplate set to medium. Aim the fan you have at the saucepan and turn it up to medium-high. Do not use anything which could set off a spark while the fan is expediting the evaporation process. To keep the liquid as stable as possible, avoid direct sunlight and if possible do this evaporation process at night or in a very dark room. The evaporation process can take awhile if you choose to not use a fan. The larger the saucepan the more surface area there is and the faster things will move along.
The current salvia extract you have (once most liquid is gone), is at about 5x strength (aprox). If you are content with the work you’ve put in, you do not need to do any more purification (if you want 10x strength then skip to Part E). If you want your 5x salvia extract, mix in the remaining 10 grams of leaf you set aside to the evaporated, thick and sticky black material you have in your saucepan. Cook this on low hotplate heat with low fan speed. This will eventually become dry salvia extract material and you should let it air dry for another few hours to finish evaporation.
Now you have approximately 10 grams of salvia leaf extract at 5x strength. This is smokeable, however most people choose to continue the purification process to achieve 10x strength or more.
**EXTRA PART FOR BONUS STRENGTH**
Part E: Additional purification for 10x strength extract
Take the cooked down dry salvia extract you have produced from parts A through D and place it in the glass jar – without the 10 grams you set aside. Add 50 ml Naptha to the glass gar with the dry salvia extract. Gently mix the two together, swirl the jar until well mixed. The Naptha will work to break down the dark plant material and separate it from the lighter Salvinorin A. Let this mix sit for 30 minutes. When time is up, use your eyedropper to pull out most of the Naptha from the top of the liquid (carefully discard the naptha), leaving the lighter Salvinorin A material in the jar. Repeat the Naptha mixing and discarding process with the eyedropper until the Salvinorin A material is no longer black. 5 mixes will achieve 10x purity. On your last mix, take out 2/3 of the Naptha and let the rest of the liquid evaporate. The color of your extract should be much lighter than it was at the conclusion of part D.
Once the purified salvia extract you just produced is mostly dry, place it in the clean saucepan you were using before. Add 2 liters of acetone to the saucepan, mix well to be sure the salvia extract is dissolved completely. Add in the remaining 10 grams of dry leaf you set aside (in part A) to your saucepan. Heat this at medium on the hotplate heat with medium-high fan speed. Repeat the evaporation process as you did in part D. This will eventually become dry salvia extract material and you should let it air dry for another few hours to finish evaporation process.
Now you have approximately 10 grams of salvia leaf extract at 10x strength. This is smokeable.
Conclusion
Best results will be achieved by thoroughly following these instructions. For your safety make sure to use only well ventilated spaces. Acetone will dissolve plastic so be careful not to stir any mixtures with it or use any plastic containers. Be careful when discarding all acetone and naptha.
The salvia extract you have produced is appropriate for smoking, it is different than oral consumption liquid like salvia tincture. With the increased strength of any extract it is important to know how to use it, read up on salvia effects before you go in. Finally, be sure to check the legal status of Salvia in your state before attempting to buy any plant material or make any extract.