The Modern Herbal Dispensatory : A Medicine-Making Guide

The beloved best-selling classic for the modern herbalist—a definitive guide to 250 safe and effective herbal medicines, preparations, and single-herb remedies to make at home.

This comprehensive, full-color guide offers detailed and easy-to-follow instructions for making and using approximately 250 all-natural DIY herbal medicines. With practical tips, in-depth preparation techniques, and an inside look at some of the authors’ own favorite formulas, The Modern Herbal Dispensatory walks beginners and advanced herbalists alike through:

• The 12 major categories of herbs, from aromatic to sweet
• Herbal preparations: the many ways to prepare and use herbs, from capsules and tinctures to standardized extracts and essential oils
• Choosing the best dosage form for each category of herb
• How to harvest, dry, and use fresh herbs
• Extractions: terms, equipment, solvents, and calculations, plus how to extract herbs in water, alcohol, glycerin, and vinegar
• Advanced techniques: like percolation extracts, fluid extracts, and soxhlet extracts
• Preparations like oil-based extractions, topical applications, concentrates, lozenges, traditional Chinese methods, and more
• Formulas and dosages: how to design herbal formulas and use herbs safely and effectively
• Herbal insights and need-to-know wisdom, like why different preparations of the same herb affect the body differently; which herbs are medicinal when dry, but could be toxic when fresh; and why beginners typically see more potent results with formulations versus single-herb preparations

The text includes multiple appendices, recommendations for further reading, in-depth full-color photo guides, and a helpful index. With advice on herbal preparations for 100+ illnesses and conditions and a comprehensive materia medica, The Modern Herbal Dispensatory is an enduring classic and beloved plant-medicine reference manual for herbalists, natural medicine practitioners, and anyone seeking safe, holistic, at-home care and inexpensive all-natural remedies.