I would like to make some propolis tincture.
1. Has anyone tried it?
2. What recipe?
3. What results?
I haven't tried making it, but I can attest to results. I bought some at a health food store and applied it to a knee I had injured 15 years before. The dermatologist said I had "traumatic psoriasis" on the knee and it never healed up. He prescribed a cream that cost me $85 a tube and did little very good. The knee was sometimes bleeding and always rough and scaly.
After about three months of applying propolis to the knee, it was smooth and pretty much healed. Just be careful the applied propolis isg fully dry before letting it touch anything like furniture. My wife's new bedspread still has a little colored spot where my knee touched it and I'll never hear the end of that.
My wife applied it to a mole on her arm for about three weeks and it disappeared- the mole, not the arm :grin:
a beer and two egg may remove that stain.
do not just treat one item use this on others
eggs nor beer stains to my knowledge
please do a test stain first after a few minuets rinse
Quote from: jayj200 on June 19, 2015, 01:15:02 PM
a beer and two egg may remove that stain.
do not just treat one item use this on others
eggs nor beer stains to my knowledge
please do a test stain first after a few minuets rinse
Thanks, Jay. Maybe that will finally get me out of that doghouse. Now if I can find solutions for all the others.
I haven't used it in a tincture, but I gather fresh propolis every year, and wouldn't hesitate to use it on any cut or burn. I've seen it do phenomenal things. Making it more "usable", with a tincture, just seems to make sense, so long as the cutting agent doesn't have too much of a negative impact on the healing properties of the propolis.
On another note - I had a mishap last week with a very hot item. It appeared to be second to third degree burns on a finger & thumb. I immediately applied honey, then wrapped in gauze. Within an hour, the intense stinging/burning sensation subsided. After 3-4 hours, there was little indication of a burn. After a week, it appears I will eventually lose some skin where the "blister" ( which never swelled) manifested - kind of like a callous .
Honey works great on burns!!!
I do know you want to use something like vodka to make the tincture, because some people use it internally. I've been told to freeze the propolis, then crush it in a mortar, place it in a bottle and let it sit for (times I've been told vary from days to months), shaking it occasionally until the propolis is in a suspension. Mine came in a small bottle with a built-in brush that I use to apply to the wound.
There are commercially prepared bandages for medical use that are soaked at least on one side with honey. This is one of the oldest treatments known for wound and burn care and now the medical profession is catching up. It is anti-biotic and seals the wound from invasive stuff.
I made a batch at 1/3rd propolis 2/3rd grain alcohol (153 proof product called Diesel). I used grain alcohol in case I wanted to try it for a sore throat, but you can use wood alcohol also. I just stuffed little pieces into a bottle and kept shaking till it dissolved.
There's recipes out there for olive oil and propolis that I want to try too.
Quote from: rwlaw on June 20, 2015, 07:32:40 AM
I made a batch at 1/3rd propolis 2/3rd grain alcohol (153 proof product called Diesel). I used grain alcohol in case I wanted to try it for a sore throat, but you can use wood alcohol also. I just stuffed little pieces into a bottle and kept shaking till it dissolved.
There's recipes out there for olive oil and propolis that I want to try too.
How long did it take to dissolve and was the tincture relatively thick or "wattery?"
I hadn't heard of olive oil and propolis. How is that used? Does the propolis dissolve well in oil? The alcohol in a tincture evaporates, but the oil would make it ... What? Like a salve or lotion?
As a Pharmacist I can tell you most Pharmaceutical tinctures are 10% alcohol except one that is 5% (can't remember which it was - it was 60 years ago but it wasn't propolis ;) )
It took about three weeks of shaking it everyday to dissolve it. You can tell, when you shake the it there won't be bits of propolis left on the side of the bottle. No it wasn't thick, I tore a hunk of hide off my knuckle and just soaked the pad of the band aid used to cover it. Worked great.
I'm thinking the olive oil/propolis tincture would work on the type of wounds that need to be kept open for a bit, like driving a gutter screw into the end of my finger. That's never happened before LOL.
Wombat you could probably get the 10 percent after distillating the bejuses out it, but it'd probably ruin the healing properties.
Quote from: rwlaw on June 21, 2015, 11:44:33 AM
It took about three weeks of shaking it everyday to dissolve it. You can tell, when you shake the it there won't be bits of propolis left on the side of the bottle. No it wasn't thick, I tore a hunk of hide off my knuckle and just soaked the pad of the band aid used to cover it. Worked great.
I'm thinking the olive oil/propolis tincture would work on the type of wounds that need to be kept open for a bit, like driving a gutter screw into the end of my finger. That's never happened before LOL.
Wombat you could probably get the 10 percent after distillating the bejuses out it, but it'd probably ruin the healing properties.
Thanks. I can live with 3 weeks. Three months of shaking every day? Maybe not :smile:
Gary
Maybe this will help. G
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~reute001/htm-files/Propolis%20extract.html
or this, it was borrowed from another thread elsewhere. G
Propolis Tincture:
Part 1:
A) First buy an old working electric coffee grinder at a flea market or Goodwill store.
B) Put your propolis chunks in a plastic baggie in your freezer for a couple of days.
C) Take a few chunks of propolis from the freezer and grind them immediately to a powder.
D) Dump the powder on a piece of paper and return it to the freezer. Grind more if necessary.
E) Pour about two inches of White Lightening (Everclear) in a disposable glass bottle with a lid.
F) Add the powdered propolis to the fluid in the bottle while swirling and gently shaking, then cap.
G) Place the capped bottle on top of your water heater or furnace and shake daily for 4-6 weeks.
H) Much of the propolis will dissolve but the beeswax, bee legs, and wood shavings, etc. will not.
Part 2:
I) Form a funnel shape out of a piece of fly screen and line it with a paper coffee filter.
J) Place the funnel/filter over a throw away container, possibly bottom ? of a milk ?bottle? box.
K) Pour the slurry of propolis and alcohol through the funnel/filter
L) The resulting clear dark fluid will be a fully saturated solution, or high concentration propolis tincture.
M) The dregs in the filter can be used as the partial feed stock for the next batch of tincture you make.
N) Bottle the tincture for topical use only and use yourself or sell. You may want to reduce the
Concentration.
G,
Thanks for sharing. I plan on making some. I have about quart of dry Propolis in a jar.
Jim
Wow! I paid $10 for about 1 ounce at a Natural Foods Store. Whole Foods charges about $20 for the same amount. At that rate, Graham, you should make more money from propolis tincture than from honey
I'm just passing it on. I haven't ever made any but plan on it. Found those on a thread at a different site, so I just thought I would pass em on. Let me know how it turns out, I don't have enough to try it yet. I will be collecting from here on out though. G
I just made some. I filled an 8-oz canning jar (you could use any clean jar though) with good vodka, then added hunks of propolis to it, and shook it whenever I remembered to (usually one or more times a day--I left it on the kitchen counter). After a week the propolis mostly dissolved, so next time I inspected my hive and scraped out some, I added more.
I figured eventually it would hit some maximum concentration and then no more of it would dissolve. Went through the same shake routine. When the second batch of propolis mostly dissolved, I strained out any extra, plus random chunks of wax/bee parts with a fine strainer.
It dissolves better if you leave the propolis in small pieces, rather than caking it together in a big ball.
We make our own mouthwash by taking a 16-oz glass jar and mixing water, drops of various essential oils (peppermint, sage, tea tree, thyme), glycerin, and xylitol. I added a tablespoon of the propolis to it to help a family member who gets mouth sores and has gum issues.
Apart from the mouthwash, we plan to also use our propolis tincture for skin problems, rashes, sore throats, etc. Sometimes I just put a drop of it on my hand. Once the alcohol evaporates, it smells wonderful--reminds me of hiking in a deep, fresh forest.
Good for you, Westhill! One thing I read said to freeze the propolis and put it into an OLD or cheap used coffee grinder to make very small bits of propolis that will dissolve easier/faster. Let us know how it works for your friend who has mouth/gum problems, as well as how it works for you.
I've started collection jars that are in my bee stuff box and goes out on inspections. One bottle is for comb and one is for propolis. You'all have inspired me.
Flyboy, that's y'all. You need to come to Texas or someplace in the South and learn how to talk. Just listen to Obama. When he comes south, he drops all those useless vowels at the ends of words -- like "workin, walkin, talkin, makin," and stuff like that. In fact, I think Hillary has picked that up, too, maybe from Obama or maybe from the time spent in Arkansas, but definitely not her time at Harvard. :cool:
Quote from: Dallasbeek on June 26, 2015, 08:05:56 PM
Flyboy, that's y'all. You need to come to Texas or someplace in the South and learn how to talk. Just listen to Obama. When he comes south, he drops all those useless vowels at the ends of words -- like "workin, walkin, talkin, makin," and stuff like that. In fact, I think Hillary has picked that up, too, maybe from Obama or maybe from the time spent in Arkansas, but definitely not her time at Harvard. :cool:
Yeah I know it's a Canuck disease. We are also obliged to use the Oxford English dictionary so draft beer is draught beer. Can you imagine after a belly full of beer trying to spell it???
Maybe there is some connection in there for why Canadian beer has to be made so strong. In fact when we visit the US we are obliged to get a Molson muscle (beergut) just from all the extra beer we have to drink. ;) It sorta gets some fellas p**d off as it were.
They even have to make spell checks for us Canucks because youse guys insist on spelling colour as color, etc. I read a book on the English language that was quite hilarious. The author explained why you guys spell differently than Canucks and Brits. It had to do with the first major 'Mericun dictionary by Daniel Webster.
Thanks for the laugh.
Flyboy you probably only use cash because you can't spell check correctly. I have a Canuck friend who finds spell check infuriating because he claims check is spelled some funky way with a q. Just out of coincidence, his last name is Webster... Seems like he would know how to spell it correctly with a name like Webster.
Quote from: Dallasbeek on June 25, 2015, 10:30:55 PM
Good for you, Westhill! One thing I read said to freeze the propolis and put it into an OLD or cheap used coffee grinder to make very small bits of propolis that will dissolve easier/faster. Let us know how it works for your friend who has mouth/gum problems, as well as how it works for you.
Hi Dallasbeek,
Mine dissolved fine without going through the coffee grinder, but I made sure to keep it in small pieces when I collected it, instead of wadding it all up into a big ball. The mouthwash is helping with the mouth/gum issues--soothing and is relieving the pain.
I had a sliver that I couldn't get out, and the site was red, swollen, and had pus. I put propolis tincture on it before I went to sleep and when I woke up the redness, pus, and pain was gone. The sliver is still in there, of course, but not hurting any more because the infection is gone. Pretty cool!
The proportion of propolis to alcohol probably makes little difference, since the alcohol evaporates and leaves just the propolis for topical use. For your mouthwash, did you use full strength alcohol? Seems like that could be a little strong and it would be good if it wasn't straight Everclear.
Hi Dallasbeek,
For the mouthwash, we filled a 16-ounce jar with water, added a few drops of various essential oils (mentioned in my post above), and a tablespoon of vodka (to keep it from getting mildewy). Now we are adding a tablespoon of propolis tincture to the mix, instead of the tablespoon of vodka (since the tincture is made with vodka). Tastes great and is very refreshing and soothing for any mouth sores.
Westhill, that sounds really good. I'll start collecting propolis right away. Thanks for clarifying about the mouthwash.
Gary
OK maybe I should start a new thread but my purpose is to make propolis tincture so I will post it here. On Saturday I took my propolis trap off the hive. I need to get a few more but anyway I stuck it in the freezer so I could break it off easier. Tonight I tried to get the propolis off the trap. I got a lot of it but a lot stayed as well. Any suggestions as to getting propolis off the trap? I did get a pretty good amount certainly not all of it.
Eric, maybe put it somewhere very hot and scrape it off? That's how I collect mine from the hive. I scrape it off and roll it into a pill shape. At Bud6 we learned that propolis doesn't cure prostrate cancer but it stops it.
Westhill & others, Learn the plant called "Yellow Root" not yellow dock (which I think will work as well). Yellow root grows along moist areas in sandy soil. Scrape the bark off of the roots, cut into small tootsie roll size portions. Chew it and move it over on the canker. Takes about 2 to 3 days to be completely cured. In about 24 hours you'll notice the skin growing back over it. Look up
"The southern herbalist" Darryl Patton on you tube. He can explain it better than I, since he's bee doing it for decades and I've only got a few weeks under my belt. :wink:
GSF, A lot of propolis did break off when I took the trap out of the freezer and then bent it in waves to crack it off. But a lot of it stayed as well. The next time I take it off the hive I will start with the freezer and get as much off that way as possible and then I will set it in the sun for a while and try that method after. My next question is whats should I put it on? Wax paper or aluminum foil? I tried a cookie sheet and by the time I was done I had pieces sticking... (I *think* I got it cleaned off...If I didn't I ma sure my lovely wife will let me know the next time she uses the cookie sheet...)
I wonder if it needs to be refrigerated when you are stirring it? I was thinking I would put it in the trunk of the car. After the gravel driveway and the vibration of the road I should not even have to touch it until it is done.
My husband gave me an old chisel just the same depth as the side bars on my frames. I scrape off the propolis they put between frames whenever I'm in the hive. Thanks to this thread I have a couple of small bottles of tincture going now. It's warm here and the propolis was plenty easy to pull off in small bits and drop into the jars. I topped them off with everclear and have left them in the window. I just started using the tincture and am impressed with the early results. I did battle with a couple of acres of brambles over the weekend. Some of those scratches stayed puffy and red. The tincture really seemed to help.
I need a source of everclear.
They quit selling it here to Eric, they sell in in N.C. Closest I can get don't come from the store. :wink:
I've used vodka for other things when I didn't have everclear. I'd try that if you can't get the other.
Vodka is just lower proof. Some distillers make 100-proof vodka. Everclear is 151-proof.
I thought the Everclear I remember was 95% neutral spirit. or 190 proof.
Quote from: biggraham610 on August 13, 2015, 03:12:48 PM
I thought the Everclear I remember was 95% neutral spirit. or 190 proof.
You are correct. I couldn't find the bottle I knew was in my liquor cabinet, so went on Wikipedia. It said 151. Now I found it and it's 190 proof, which would be 80% pure alcohol. That's a curious way of stating the alcohol content. Probably an interesting story exists on just how that came about. But you're right. Wiki and I were wrong.
200 proof is 100%. 160 proof is 80%. Either is too strong for me :shocked:
Yeah, and I misstated Everclear's percentage. Of course, it's 95% to make 190 proof. Dumb today.
I don't suppose 190 or 160 or any of that stuff is meant to take straight. 100 proof is even too strong for me. But I've become more of a scotch drinker anyway, except for vodka and tonic in the summertime.
Just had the 9 and the 8 flipped. I like Bourbon, 80 to 101, on the rocks, I never could get the Scotch thing down, finally warmed up to Irish since its my Dads favorite. Maybe one day I will get the taste for scotch. And yes, the tonics being Vodka or Gin are refreshing Summer libations. :grin:
I didn't care for scotch until I went to Scotland and tasted all the variations of it. A friend there bought me a glass of Lagavulin and it was really peaty. I liked that a lot, so he said "Try this, then," and ordered a couple of glasses of Lafroig. Even peatier. That's my favorite. I don't understand the difference between Irish whiskey and scotch whisky. Pretty much the same thing, to me. I think my experience with scotch prior to going to Scotland was just that I was drinking rotgut scotch. I like Irish or scotch now.
Yeah, Ireland was where I came around as well. My Dad special orders some of the 17 yr stuff by the case every yr. or so. Big difference.