Want to learn how to make calendula tincture and how to use calendula tincture at home? Below is the original calendula tincture recipe.
Calendula tincture is one of the most underrated medicinal products that you can make from marigold flowers. The calendula tincture has the best results in treating infections, inflammations, and skin lesions, as it acts as a powerful natural disinfectant that can be used both internally and topically, as you will learn. But before we show you how to make calendula tincture and the calendula tincture uses, here is how to harvest calendula flowers to prepare this elixir.
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How to Harvest Calendulas for Tincture
Calendulas, also known as marigolds, bloom from May to September, when they can be harvested to make salves, tinctures, teas, and more. For medicinal preparations with marigolds, use only the orange kind of calendulas, as the yellow varieties have little to no therapeutic effect. Harvest only the flowers, and pick them by hand, on dry and sunny days. Drying is done in the shade, in well-ventilated places, in a very thin layer. During the drying process, turn the flowers daily, 1-2 times, to facilitate water evaporation. The drying time depends on the season and the yield is 6/1, that is, you get 100 g of dried calendulas from 600 g of fresh flowers.
Dried calendula flowers can be used to make calendula tea, powder, or tincture, while fresh calendulas can be used to make calendula salve, oil, or poultices.
After drying, keep the calendulas in paper bags, in places without moisture and low light. In order to preserve the active principles unaltered, keep the dried marigolds whole, until the moment of preparing the tincture. To make calendula tincture, grind the dried flowers as finely as possible using an electric coffee grinder. If you want to prepare the powder ahead, store it in sealed glass jars, in dark and cold places, and use it over the course of the next 2 weeks maximum.
Health Uses of Calendula Tincture
Calendula is antiseptic, amazing for digestive ailments and, above all, skin conditions. Several laboratory experiments have shown that the active substances in calendula inhibit the spasms of the digestive tube, restore the digestive epithelia damaged by conditions such as fermentation colitis or putrefactive colitis, and reduce the irritability of the colon.
The active principles in calendula, stimulate the smooth muscles of the digestive tube to intensify their movements, thus accelerating the process of digestion, as well as the elimination of fecal matter. Calendula works in gastritis and gastric ulcer by healing the damaged stomach linen without interfering with the gastric juices. Topically, calendula tincture has similar applications as the calendula salve, it helps heal wounds, reduce skin inflammation, ulcers, and fungal infections, and even repair skin after insect bites.
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How to Make Calendula Tincture – Calendula Tincture Recipe
The antiseptic, cicatrizing, and anti-inflammatory substances present in calendula flowers are best extracted using alcohol. To make calendula tincture, put twenty spoons of dried marigold flower powder in a jar, and pour two cups (500 ml) of 70-degree food alcohol over them. Seal the jar and leave it to macerate for two weeks, in a warm place. Strain the calendula tincture, and pour it into small, amber bottles with a dropper. The usual dose of calendula tincture for an adult is one teaspoon diluted in a little bit of water, four times a day, but the dosage may vary depending on the condition.
8 Health Uses of Calendula Tincture – Internally
- Dyspepsia & Cholecystitis – one teaspoon of calendula tincture diluted in water 20 minutes before each meal of the day (3 times a day), for at least three weeks. Has an anti-inflammatory effect on the gallbladder, normalizes the secretion of bile, and helps to pour the bile into the duodenum. It also stimulates digestion.
- Stimulates Bile Secretion – calendula tincture has choleretic properties, with applications in biliary disorders – 30 drops, 3 times a day, added to a cup of mint tea.
- Diseases System Problems (gastritis, dyspepsia, meteorism, flatulence, bloating, diarrhea, and digestive tract spasms) – 30 drops of calendula tincture 3 times a day, added to a cup of water or peppermint tea.
- Urinary Tract Problems – it has an antispasmodic effect in diseases of the urinary system – 30 drops, 3 times a day, added to a cup of herbal tea of your choice or a little water.
- High Cholesterol – administered regularly, calendula tincture can decrease lipids (fats) in the bloodstream – 30 drops, 3 times a day, added to a cup of herbal tea or a little water.
- Anal Problems (hemorrhoids, anal fissures, anal itching, rectitis) – 30 drops, 3 times a day, added to a cup of common couch (Elymus repens) tea.
- Dry Cough – has emollient properties and soothes a dry cough that accompanies respiratory tract conditions – 30 drops, 3 times a day, added to a cup of linden tea.
- Allergies (hives, itching, erythema, seasonal eye allergies caused by various allergenic factors such as dust, down, pollen) – 30 drops each, 3 times a day, added to a cup of heartsease tea. Alongside, apply calendula salve or oil topically.
6 Health Uses of Calendula Tincture – Topical Use
- Mild Wounds – wash the wound well with the calendula tincture, then apply a calendula tincture compress 3 times a day, for half an hour each. Calendula tincture stimulates aesthetic scarring, increases healing speed, and prevents infection of mild or mild wounds.
- Contusions – (bruises) in the first 36 hours apply compresses with calendula tincture on the affected area, and keep them on for as long as possible. In the following days, apply calendula salve three times a day. This will shorten the healing time and the contusion will be less obvious and less painful.
- Fungal Infections (athlete’s foot disease, eczema, etc.) – apply calendula tincture on the affected area for one hour, twice a day (afternoon and evening), until complete healing. Applied long-term (minimum 3 hours a day, for 2 weeks), calendula extracts destroy most of the known types of parasitic fungi.
- Varicose Ulcer & Wounds That Don’t Heal – wash the area with calendula tincture and apply compresses with this tincture, to prevent infection and the expansion of ulcers. Alongside, apply calendula salve three times a day, long-term until complete healing.
- Surgical Interventions – an Italian study carried out in 2001 shows that a combination of equal amounts of calendula and St.John’s wort extracts, increases the healing speed of surgeries, favoring aesthetic and complication-free scarring. Wash the area daily with the calendula tincture and apply calendula and St. John’s wort tincture compresses (combined in equal parts), diluted in distilled water at a 1:5 ratio.
- Insect Bites – pad the bite with calendula tincture (dilute 1/2 teaspoon in 1/2 cup of water) or calendula oil. Is also effective for hives and skin allergies of various causes.
Calendula Safety & Precautions
Calendula and calendula extracts used internally are practically non-toxic, as there are no known side effects and contraindications in this sense. Calendulas are edible flowers. However, they should be used with caution, both internally and externally, by those who have allergic sensitivity to plant pollen, to those who take sedative drugs (it seems to amplify the sedative effect), or hypotensive drugs (it also amplifies the hypotensive effects of drugs). Large doses (over 15 grams daily) of calendula extracts administered internally can lead to episodes of hypotension, especially in women and the elderly. Pregnant women should not take more than 5 grams of calendula daily.
A Short History of Calendula
The Latin name calendula comes from the fact that the Romans believed that marigolds bloomed at the beginning of each new month (calendae). The ancient Egyptians valued it, believing that it bought youth and beauty to those using it. The Hindu people decorated their temples with marigolds, while the Persians and Greeks used calendula petals to decorate their dishes for their guests. In the 15th century, the King of England, Henry VIII, intensively used marigolds to ward off the plague and leprosy, while during the American Civil War, doctors used calendula leaves to treat the open wounds of soldiers on the battlefield.
More Calendula Recipes:
Calendula TeaCalendula Salve
As a result, the calendula acquired an international reputation, being used frequently, even today, thanks to its known cicatrizing, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory virtues. Nowadays, marigolds are valued especially for their healing virtues. If you’ve enjoyed learning how to make calendula tincture, the most important health uses of calendula tincture, and how to use calendula tincture at home, depending on the ailment, please share this article so more people can use this information. Stay healthy, naturally!
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Andreea Laza
Andreea Lazais our chief editor, with a BA in English language and an MA in Media Communication. She is passionate about herbal medicine and she believes in the natural healing power of plants, just like her ancestors from the Danube Valley of Eastern Europe. Thus, she made it her mission to share her knowledge with the rest of the world and help humankind. ? The information on this website is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a pediatrician or your family doctor.
