Salvia tincture Archives » Salvia Extract

How to make Salvia Tincture

Introduction:

To make salvia tincture you will need to buy salvia extract or make salvia extract yourself from Salvia Divinorum. For the salvia tincture to be done right, the initial salvia extract has to have be done right. The salvia tincture you will make will contain Salvinorin A, the active ingredient which is amplified in the first extraction process. A salvia tincture will serve as a liquid way to enjoy the benefits of salvia.

Follow all steps to the best of your ability and use the most top quality materials you can. This process should be done with little or no exposure to direct sunlight. Working on this at night is your safest bet to keep the quality of the salvia tincture. Keep the temperature stable, room temp works best. The use of plastic must be avoided, any plastic will mess with the salvia tincture. If you plan on carrying out the process at home be sure that all areas and tools are very clean.

This set of instructions will provide up to approximately 6-10 ounces of salvia tincture.

Always check out State laws before you purchase or attempt to buy or make any salvia extract or tincture.

Prep List:

– 10 grams of powdered salvia extract 10x strength (you can use other denominations as well such as 20x or 40x)

– 10 ounces of drinking alcohol 151-191 proof – if you buy a larger bottle measure out 10 ounces for your tincture.

– 1 glass measuring cup

– 2 glass jars. A pickle jar should be appropriate or a jar that can hold the 10 ounce tincture mix

– 2 large glass bowls or square pyrex dishes – for optional purity test

– small glass vials for portioning out your tincture (this is optional). Do not use plastic.

– 1 glass eyedropper (this is optional) – the kind with a rubber squeeze on the end. No plastic. Use this to transfer from your tincture jar into the vials.

Optional Purity Test:

You have the option of testing your extract powder if you like. This test will show if there is any tannin in your extract.

Dissolve some or all of your extract in 100 ml of acetone in a glass bowl or pyrex dish. Swirl or stir your mixture for 5 minutes and if it is clear then you have an extract free of tannin and other major impurities.

If it is cloudy you may leave it overnight (up to 12 hours) and check for any sediment in the morning. Any sediment means some tannin was left in during the extraction process or the Salvinorin A has not been completely dissolved. You may wait an additional 24 hours for the acetone to become clear, as it eventually will when the heavier tannin sinks to the bottom of the bowl or dish. Pour off the acetone into another bowl or dish, being careful not to transfer any sediment. Evaporate off the acetone and you can scrape the container for your salvia extract.

You can use this tested salvia extract to make a tincture.

Instructions:

Part A: Buy or make the powder salvia extract.

The salvia extract is easy to make and once you have completed all parts of that process (including naptha washing) you can continue on to make a high quality tincture.

Part B: Carefully dissolve the salvia extract.

The dark green or light green salvia extract powder can now be dissolved in drinking alcohol of 151 to 191 proof. The higher the proof the more luck you will have.

Take your salvia extract powder, and place it in the glass jar. Now carefully pour in the 6 ounces of alcohol and gently swirl or shake to dissolve the powder. Do not use any metal or plastic to stir or you will risk ruining the mix. Be patient and swirl or shake for 5 minutes and then let the tincture sit for 5 more minutes. If everything is clear and completely dissolved at the end of your wait, your tincture is complete. You can keep it in the jar or put it in smaller vials.

In many cases, there may be some material undissolved at the bottom of your jar. You do not want this sediment in your tincture. If this is the case you may drain the clear tincture alcohol into the secondary glass gar – be sure to keep the unwanted sediment from transferring over.

You may choose to add more alcohol to the remaining sediment you could not initially dissolve and mix it up with alcohol for 5 minutes just like before. You might end up with a second less strong batch this way, as the sediment often contains undissolved Salvinorin A.

Photo Guide of Extraction Process

Compiled below to help people we have compiled a photo guide on how to extract Salvinorin-A using 99% Isopropanol. To make Salvia Tincture, use only Naphtha washes. Do not keep washing small amounts of Do not continue washing with small amounts of Isopropanol as this will certainly remove too many of the waxes for an effective tincture. This process assumes that you have purchased or already made Salvia Extract. You can read our other article on how to make salvia extract.

	There was plenty of black wax in the dried extract but not as much as I thought would come over.
	You can see that the extraction went well by the light colored extract seen in the bottom of the bowl. You can pour Naphtha into the bowl to make it easier to scrape out and then transfer it all into a small vial or jar to wash out waxes.
	First naphtha wash: Use a large enough container so that the dried extract won’t take up more than one third the volume. Thoroughly mix in the Naphtha and set aside for 30 minutes then eye dropper off a third of the fluid from the top taking care not to dip too deep.
	Second naphtha wash: After removing a third of the fluid from the first wash and adding more Naphtha for a second wash wait another 30 minutes for the particles to settle in the bottom again before removing Naphtha from the top using an eye dropper.
	Third naphtha wash: By the second or third wash you should be able to see the crude Salvinorin in the bottom of your container.
	Fourth naphtha wash.
	Fifth naphtha wash.
	Sixth naphtha wash: The Salvinorin had settled more than in the previous photograph and looks darker than it would otherwise, that and the lighting was not as good in this photo.
	Seventh naphtha wash: At this point you do not need to clean the extract any further. Cleaning it further with IPA will reduce the yield. The extract is already quite pure enough and very good for enhancing leaf, making tincure or a chew of some kind. It is very potent.
	The bowl I dried the concentrated IPA extract in, the vial I use to wash waxes out of the crude extract and the green Naptha from the seven washes.
	This is all of the Naphtha used in the seven washes, almost eight ounces.
	First IPA wash: Be sure to pour out the Naphtha before adding IPA. Each time you clean with IPA you loose some of your Salvinorin. You do not need to clean the extract with IPA, it is pure enough as it is for making enhanced leaf etc. (Extract had settled 1 hour).
	Second IPA wash: I poured out the dark IPA and added clean IPA to remove more of the wax. The vial was shaken for thirty seconds and set down for five minutes before I took this picture and the fine Salvinorin particles are still settling out to the bottom.
	The third IPA wash is still settling out. I am going to dry the extract and stop loosing Salvinorin from each wash.
	Dried extract: stopped washing the Salvinorin and dried it on a Teflon cookie sheet in an oven set to 120 degrees F. You can see that the choloropylls dried on top, as always.
	Although the Salvinorin has a green tint to it, it is very concentrated and would not take much more cleaning to turn it completely white. I am estimating that I was able to get 75%+ of the Salvinorin out of the leaf in 20 minutes. 60 would be better.
	Crystals grown from this extract when dissolving all of the powder in about 25 ml of 135-140 degree F. 151 proof alcohol. I reheated the Salvinorin-saturated alcohol in this vial with a microwave oven to almost boiling, three times, letting the solution cool to room temperature each time. After the third heating and cooling cycle these large crystals formed.
	The crystals were reheated four times trying to grow better crystals. The forth and subsequent reheatings and dissolving of the crystals did not produce better formations and only caused further losses of Salvinorin. Although I used a microwave oven to heat this solution, using hot water would be far better due to more even heating. Also, there is some danger of vapors being ignited in a microwave oven or the bursting of your glass container if pressure is unable to vent.

Conclusion:

Reading up on salvia effects before you try to use the tincture. Typically, the lighter color of your salvia extract the more pure it will be and the higher concentrate tincture you will make. Testing the purity before you begin is optional.

Salvia divinorum – Traditional Method

Traditional Salvia divinorum use by the Mazatec people revolved around oral ingestion. The primary traditional method of use involves grinding large quantities of fresh salvia leaves and infusing water with them to make a salvia tea. This method has the drawback of being less potent because the active ingredient of salvia is poorly absorbed in the stomach. This is also a less attractive way of using salvia because the Salvia divinorum tea is extremely bitter and large quantities of it must be consumed for effects to be felt. The benefit of ingesting salvia orally is that the effects last longer than with other methods.

The other method of oral ingestion traditionally employed by the Mazatec is simply chewing and swallowing large quantities of leaves. This involves the same drawbacks and benefits as using a tea, but may be more potent, since salvia’s psychoactive ingredient (Salvinorin-A) is more readily absorbed by mucous membranes in the mouth than it is in the digestive tract.

At the 2008 World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland, ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison, described her experiences with the Mazatec Indians (see videos below), stressing that according to them the leaves must never be heated.

Salvia Usage – Modern Methods

Smoking Salvia

Smoking Salvia divinorum is a modern development. The primary consideration when smoking salvia is that a high temperature is required to vaporize the psychoactive chemical. Because of the difficulty in vaporizing salvinorin-a, large volumes of smoke need to be inhaled, and the smoke must be held in the lungs for a long period to maximize absorption. Smoking salvia in a cigarette is possible and some people experience effects from this method, but the most effective method for smoking salvia leaves is by using a water pipe. Smoking with a water pipe cools and condenses the smoke. This means that the smoke is less harsh, and it is easier to inhale a much larger quantity.

The benefit of smoking as a method of ingesting salvia is that the effects are more powerful than with other methods. When smoked, salvinorin-a is absorbed and metabolized quickly, so the hallucinogenic properties become apparent within moments of inhaling a few lungfuls of salvia smoke. The salvia effects brought about by smoking is more intense, but does not last as long as the trip from oral ingestion. The downside to smoking, of course, is the irritation to the lungs from the harsh smoke.

Chewing Salvia

A modern take on the traditional methods of use is chewing salvia in a manner similar to the way some tobacco users chew tobacco. Since it is now known that the gastrointestinal system largely deactivates salvia’s active compound, modern users maximize the potency of oral use by chewing fresh or re-hydrated leaves for long periods of time before swallowing them. Since the taste of Salvia divinorum is bitter and unpleasant, this method is not popular, but it is a viable alternative for users who are uncomfortable smoking, or who are seeking a longer lasting trip.

Salvia Tincture

Another modern method of oral ingestion is through the use of a tincture. A tincture is manufactured by extracting
salvinorin-a into a solvent. The tincture is then taken by dropping it under the tongue and letting it absorb into the bloodstream through the sub-lingual mucous membrane. The effects produced by consuming a salvia tincture vary depending on the potency of the particular tincture. Differences in manufacturing processes and raw materials leads to tinctures that can produce to mild effects as in traditional methods of use, or intense hallucinatory states the are similar to the effects of smoking salvia.

Using a salvia tincture gives the user all of the benefits of oral consumption, namely the extended duration of acute effects, without the drawbacks of unpleasant taste and mild psycho-activity.

Salvia Extract

The most popular method today, by far, is smoking Salvia divinorum extract. This happens to be the most widely available salvia for sale. As with tinctures, smokable extracts are produced by isolating salvinorin-a from salvia leaves through the use of solvents. As opposed to the final product being delivered in the solvent, however, manufacturing an extract involves producing pure salvinorin-a. To make the pure salvinorin-a smokable, it is used to fortify a small quantity of dried Salvia divinorum leaves. For example, a 20x salvia extract might fortify 5 grams of dried leaves with the pure salvinorin-a extracted from 100 grams of leaves, making those 5 grams 20 times more powerful.

Smoking salvia extract is clearly superior for users seeking the most powerful experience and the most reliable method of ingestion. Extract avoids the major difficulty of smoking normal leaves: vaporizing enough salvinorin-a. Because the extract leaves are fortified, much more of the active ingredient is present per a given volume of smoke. While normal salvia leaves may contain different levels of salvinorin-a, making the effects unpredictable and difficult to reproduce, users know exactly what they’re getting when smoking leaves fortified with pure salvinorin-a.

As a final note on Salvia divinorum methods of use, it’s important to remember that cultivation, handling and extraction processes all contribute the potency of any salvia obtained, so finding a quality supplier can be as important a factor as the method of ingestion.