How to Make a Skullcap Tincture

Adherents of herbal medicine use skullcap to calm the nerves and treat headache and insomnia. You can keep a tincture on the nightstand for sleeplessness or tension; more convenient than getting up to brew the tea. Skullcap is a member of the mint family and grows naturally in the eastern part of the United States. The leaves and stems are used in herbal preparations. When making a tincture, use dried leaves. Chinese skullcap is not the same as American skullcap and should not be used interchangeably.

Things You'll Need

• Pot of boiling water
• Tongs
• 2 sterile ½ pint jars
• ½ cup of dried skullcap leaves
• 100 proof vodka to fill your jar
• Labels
• 6-inch square of cheesecloth
• Strainer
• 1 ounce dropper bottle

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Instructions

• 1

  Place one jar in a pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove it with tongs and place it on counter top. Place the dried skullcap in the jar and pour enough 100 proof vodka over the leaves to fill the jar. Stir. Put the lid on.

• 2

  Label the jar with the date bottled. Shelve the jar in a place that is out of direct sunlight. Open the jar and stir the contents each day for one week. Let it set for five weeks more. Open it every two or three days to stir it.

• 3

  Place cheesecloth into a stainer. Sterilize the second jar by boiling it in water for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the jar from the water with the tongs and place it on the counter. Strain the liquid into a clean jar through the cheesecloth and strainer. Label the jar.

• 4

  Pour 1 ounce of the tincture into the dropper bottle and label it. Keep the tincture in the medicine cabinet or any place that is close at hand but away from the reach of children.