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Echinacea tincture is a powerful herbal remedy that’s good for more than just staving off cold and flu. Did you know that echinacea is the most popular herbal remedy in the US? It’s widely accepted and used across the world, too, and has been for thousands of years.
Because of its popularity, companies sell small bottles of echinacea tincture for outrageous prices – up to $12 per ounce! But you can make your own echinacea tincture for $1 per ounce or less. That’s quite a saving. Plus, prep is fast and easy.
People use echinacea mostly for respiratory illnesses and boosting the immune system, but studies show that it has plenty of other uses, too, which we’ll look at a little later. While most tinctures use a high-proof alcohol base, this obviously isn’t suitable for everyone, so I’ve also included information on making echinacea tincture without alcohol – an echinacea vinegar tincture and an echinacea glycerite (which replaces alcohol with glycerine).
Let’s dive into the benefits of echinacea and how to make your own echinacea tincture.
- What is a Tincture?
- Why Choose a Tincture?
- Traditional Uses and Benefits of Echinacea Tincture
- What Echinacea Should I Use for a Tincture?
- Are There Any Warnings Associated With Echinacea Tincture?
- Which Menstruum Should You Use for Echinacea Tincture?
- How to Make Echinacea Tincture (With Alcohol or Vinegar)
- How to Make Echinacea Glycerite (No Alcohol Recipe)
- Echinacea Tincture Dosage: How Much Echinacea Tincture Should I Take?
- Echinacea Tincture Recipe
- Why Use Amber Glass Bottles and Jars to Make Echinacea Tincture?
- FAQs
What is a Tincture?
A tincture is, in essence, a concentrated herbal extract. Echinacea tincture, like most others, is really easy to make. Plus, depending on which menstruum you use, tinctures last indefinitely.
The menstruum you choose draws out the beneficial compounds from the herb matter and, once this action is complete and you take out the plant material, the healthful components remain in the menstruum in a concentrated form, ready for consumption.
Why Choose a Tincture?
Long-time readers will know that, as a master herbalist and a regular herbal remedy user, I love tinctures. With a tiny bit of know-how, they’re incredibly easy to make, they’re very effective when used properly, and they are super-concentrated, so you only need a small amount.
Echinacea tincture is bitter and doesn’t taste good, but because you only need a small dose, you can disguise it in a fruity drink or add a little honey to it along with some warm (not hot) water.
Another reason to choose echinacea tincture – it lasts! Yes, you can preserve the plants and roots by dehydrating or freezing them, but you still don’t have any real way of accessing their medicinal properties. But a tincture, if made and stored properly, needs minimal space and doesn’t need refrigeration. Plus, it’s on hand as soon as you need it.
We keep a bottle of echinacea in our natural first aid kit too, for when we’re travelling.
Traditional Uses and Benefits of Echinacea Tincture
Homemade echinacea tincture is thought to have been in use for centuries. However, the earliest recorded commercial preparation appears in historical records in 1880, called Meyers Blood Purifier [*Source].
Native Americans employed echinacea as a general purpose painkiller and would chew on the root to relieve headaches and toothaches, and it was used topically to treat everything from swellings to snake bites. It was also used in the treatment of animals for all kinds of conditions, including distemper [Source].
Some studies show that echinacea is a powerful anti-inflammatory [**Source] and that it may, in some very specific use cases, be useful against some cancers [***Source]. Early stage lab studies indicate that this herb may be useful for inhibiting colon tumors when taken in conjunction with cichoric acid [†Source], although further research is needed and ongoing, but it’s certainly an exciting and interesting finding.
Traditionally and today, echinacea tincture is a popular option for boosting the immune system, particularly during times of mental or physical stress as well as during cold and flu season. It modestly reduces cold symptoms in most people and in others sparks a significant improvement, relieving symptoms like a scratchy throat, blocked nose, and stuffy head.
Most people know echinacea as the go-to herbal remedy for the relief of cold and flu symptoms. But it does more than just get rid of your sore throat and alleviate some of the acute symptoms of the common cold.
A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut showed that taking echinacea tincture can also make you up to 58% less likely to develop a cold or flu virus from the get-go if taken as a preventive. The same study found that those taking the supplement recovered from their symptoms 1 to 2 days faster than those taking the placebo.
Aside from these specific use cases, this herbal remedy is prized for its general infection-fighting, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties that make it potentially useful for alleviating the symptoms and severity of a variety of infectious diseases, including:
- Herpes
- Malaria
- Syphilis
Because of its antimicrobial activity and antioxidant effects, this plant is also used to fight a variety of infections, including:
- Urinary tract infections
- Candida infections
- Ear infections (otitis media)
- Sinusitis
- Throat infections
Other common uses for both the root and the fresh or dried herbs:
- General pain relief
- Athlete’s foot
- Hay fever
- Slow-healing wounds
- Burns
- Insect bites
- Stomach cramps
What Echinacea Should I Use for a Tincture?
There are 11 different types of echinacea plants, also known as purple coneflower in the Asteraceae family. And there are 3 that are considered to be of use herbally. These are:
- Echinacea purpurea
- Echinacea angustifolia
- Echinacea pallida
Historically, E. angustifolia was the most common variety used herbally, but thanks to an accidental mis-identification in the 1900s, more study was conducted on E. purpurea and, as interest in this herb once again increased, it was E. purpurea that became the go-to type and is the one you’ll find most commonly today.
You can buy dried echinacea inexpensively and can use either the root or the green matter, or both in your tincturing. If our echinacea hasn’t done as well as we expected, or we’ve ended up needing to make more echinacea preparations than normal, we’ve been known to buy echinacea herb in bulk. Mountain Rose Herbs sell echinacea purpurea for under $20 per pound. And if you prefer shopping on Amazon, they sell the same quantity for a similar price here.
If you want to grow echinacea yourself, which is actually pretty easy, you can get a big pack of seeds here. But do note that you need to let them get established, particularly before you decide to tincture some echinacea root. That means not touching the roots and not harvesting too much foliage for two to three years.
On the plus side, purple cone flowers are genuinely pretty and they’re great for attracting pollinators, so you’ll be helping to save the bees and enjoying their pink/purple majesty while you wait to harvest them for your herbal preparations!
Are There Any Warnings Associated With Echinacea Tincture?
According to WebMD, echinacea is considered likely safe for most people. However, echinacea works on the immune system, so they also note that anybody with auto-immune disorders such as MS, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis should avoid any echinacea preparation. Echinacea stimulates the immune system, so could potentially make any condition that involves an overstimulated immune system worse.
As with all herbal preparations, echinacea can interact with other medications, slowing down how fast they’re broken down by the body, the medication’s effectiveness, and similar. So it’s always best to talk to a qualified healthcare professional before you start taking any herbal products, particularly if you already take other medications. Remember, plants are powerful and taking them without due care can cause unintended consequences.
This is another reminder that I’m not a doctor, and I’m not providing medical advice here. And, if you’re taking medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s important to consult your healthcare provider before using any kind of herbal preparation.
Which Menstruum Should You Use for Echinacea Tincture?
The menstruum is the base or the liquid that extracts and holds all the beneficial compounds of the plant. The type of menstruum you use is completely up to you. I personally use 80-proof (or 40%) vodka or brandy for regular tincture.
But, of course, not everyone can tolerate alcohol or should be exposed to alcohol, even in the minute quantities associated with tincture dosing. So I’ve also made echinacea vinegar tincture. I use organic apple cider vinegar with the mother for the extra health benefits. And I’ve successfully made an echinacea glycerite, which is another alcohol-free tincture, this time made with glycerin.
If you’ve got very fussy adults or kids, an echinacea glycerite is a good option, because it’s naturally sweet, helps to disguise the intense flavor of the herb, and is more palatable than other types of tincture.
An echinacea vinegar tincture is a solid, shelf-stable alternative to a regular, alcohol-based tincture.
Aside from slight differences in preparation method, taste, and alcohol content, the main difference between the three menstruum types is the shelf life. As noted earlier, alcohol tinctures theoretically last indefinitely, although I choose to make fresh batches every five years. A vinegar tincture lasts at least three years, while a glycerite lasts two years.
Note that the vinegar tincture is not an oxymel. An oxymel is a herbal infusion of herbs, vinegar, and honey, and requires more explanation than I can give here.
How to Make Echinacea Tincture (With Alcohol or Vinegar)
Making echinacea tincture is super easy. I like to use echinacea root and echinacea flowers/leaves/stems for my homemade echinacea tincture to make sure I’m getting the full spectrum of beneficial compounds from this useful little plant. Whether you choose to use fresh echinacea plants or dried herbs and dried echinacea root, the process is the same.
Wash fresh plant and root matter and scrape the roots clean. Chop the plant and roots to maximize surface area to facilitate drawing out the most beneficial substances from the plant matter.
Tip the chopped plant matter into a clean, sterilized jar then fill the remaining space in the jar with your chosen menstruum. Cover the inside of the canning lid with parchment paper to stop the metal of the lid rusting when it comes into contact with the menstruum. Tighten the lid, shake the jar vigorously, then put it into a dark, dry place that doesn’t get excessively hot.
I use wide-mouth amber glass jars like these ones. They block out plenty of light, which is important to preserve the integrity and potency of most herbal remedies, including this tincture.
Don’t forget to label the jar with the date you began the extraction process. I also always add the earliest date that the tincture is ready for consumption. In this case, that’s a bare minimum of two weeks, but I generally wait a minimum of six weeks before I strain a tincture.
Shake the bottle daily for the first two weeks and then, until you strain it, shake the jar two to three times a week.
If you find you need echinacea tincture before you want to strain it, you can use your handmade tincture after two weeks, but it won’t be as potent as it will be after six to eight weeks.
Once you’re ready to finish your tincture, strain it. I use a cheesecloth (this one is great value), but some folks use a coffee filter although I find this method messy, finicky, and just not as effective. Be patient and, if you’re using cheesecloth or similar, once you’ve let the tincture strain, give the remaining herb matter a good squeeze to get as much liquid out as you can.
To store your tincture, keep it in amber glass jars, preferably with droppers to make dosing easier. If you find you’ve got a fairly large batch, you can store the bulk in a larger amber glass bottle like these 16oz bottles, then keep a smaller portion in a little amber glass dropper bottle like this one for daily use.
And, of course, don’t forget to label the bottles with their contents and the date they were filled. You can also include a use-by date.
How to Make Echinacea Glycerite (No Alcohol Recipe)
Now, if you’ve read some of my other tincture recipes, you’ll know I choose not to use glycerin often because I dislike its heavily processed nature. So if I need something sweeter, and non-alcoholic, I’d usually make an oxymel. However, I have made this glycerite two ways, and it does have its place. Specifically for kids or for people can’t tolerate vinegar, alcohol, or honey. It’s also much more palatable than echinacea tea, because it’s sweet and you have to take less of it to get the benefits.
When I do use glycerin, I use a high-quality plant-based glycerin of sustainable origin like this one from sustainable palm.
For an echinacea glycerite, I use the exact same preparation as I do for vinegar or alcohol tinctures so that I don’t destroy any of the useful plant extracts.
If you need an echinacea preparation fast, there is another glycerite process you can use. But you need to use echinacea root and not the leaves and flowers. That’s because a rapid glycerite uses low heat and even low heat destroys many of the useful components of plants. Particularly tender leaves and flowers. But woody plant parts such as echinacea roots can withstand the application of low heat.
I strongly recommend that you only use this method if you need a small batch of glycerite quickly while you’re waiting for a cold-processed batch to finish the extraction process. And I wouldn’t use the fresh or dried herb, I’d only use the root to make sure you get the maximum echinacea extracts in your glycerite.
Prep your fresh or dried echinacea root and pop it in canning jars. Pour the good quality, sustainable vegetable glycerin over the chopped root and fill the jars to just below the band. Seal the lids and stand the jars in a slow cooker.
Fill the slow cooker with water to the shoulders of the jars, pop the lid on the slow cooker, and turn it on its lowest setting. Leave it for 72 hours, occasionally topping it up with water to make sure it doesn’t run dry.
After three days, turn off the slow cooker and remove the jars. Let them cool completely, then strain and repackage the resulting glycerite as you would the other tinctures.
Echinacea Tincture Dosage: How Much Echinacea Tincture Should I Take?
It’s all well and good making tinctures, and sticking them in a dark cupboard in your quest for more natural living but you need to know how to use them safely, too. When you’re trying to establish how much of this tincture to take, you’ll find, as with all herbal medicines, that recommendations vary wildly from a few drops to several droppers. The generally accepted guidance for this particular herbal preparation is one full dropper up to three times per day when using it to alleviate cold and flu symptoms.
As a general preventative, you can take one full dropper (25 to 30 drops) once per day over the winter months.
Respected herbalist Susan Weed, author of the brilliant Wise Woman Herbal recommends a body weight-based dosage for fighting off a cold or other ailment. Her recommendation is quite simply one drop per two pounds of body weight, although she does note that for children between 25 and 50 pounds, she rounds to simply one full dropper.
For those over 50 pounds, her suggested echinacea tincture dosage is as follows.
| Weight | Recommended Dosage |
| 50 – 100 pounds | 2 full droppers |
| 100 – 150 pounds | 3 full droppers |
| 150 – 200 pounds | 4 full droppers |
| 200 – 250 pounds | 5 full droppers |
If you manage to start the treatment before you get really sick, you can take the full amount every three to four hours. However, if you’re unlucky enough that your symptoms progress quickly, you can take the full dose every one to two hours. I would also strongly recommend taking this echinacea tincture alongside my super-charged elderberry syrup to feel better, faster. Alone, the elderberry preparation is brilliant at boosting immune systems as a daily preventative and general health tonic, as well as working to alleviate cold and flu symptoms. And these two herbal preparations combined are a force to be reckoned with!
Let’s break that down a little more. So, there are around 25 to 30 drops in a full dropper. And there are around 100 drops in a teaspoon. And roughly 600 drops in an ounce. So you can see that you’ll very rapidly get through a whole ounce bottle if you’re actively fighting an infection. So making it yourself, and in large quantities definitely makes good practical and financial sense.
Echinacea Tincture Recipe
How to Make Echinacea Tincture
This traditional remedy for cold and flu season does so much more than cure a runny nose and prevent colds. Anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, and full of antioxidants, echinacea tincture boosts the immune system, fights infections, and helps to alleviate pain and inflammation. And it’s so easy to make an echinacea tincture, using the whole plant to get maximum benefit and potency.
Do note that I haven’t left exact measurements here because it depends on how much you need, how much herb you have, and the size of the jars.
Ingredients
- Fresh or dried echinacea roots and aerial parts (flowers, leaves, and stems)
- Menstruum of your choice. I prefer vodka or if I’m making a batch for someone who needs to avoid alcohol, apple cider vinegar.
Instructions
1. Chop the echinacea roughly and add it to the clean, dry jars.
2. Regardless of whether I’m using fresh or dried echinacea roots, aerial parts, or both, I tend to fill the jars with the plant material about ½ to ¾.
3. Fill the jar to the neck with the menstruum of your choice. As noted above, I like vodka or organic apple cider vinegar with the mother.
4. Add parchment paper to the inside of the jar lid to prevent corrosion from the metal lid and the menstruum reacting. Seal the jar and shake it vigorously.
5. Store the jar in a cool, dark, dry space.
6. Shake the jar vigorously every day for the first two weeks.
7. Shake the jar two or three times a week for the next four to six weeks.
8. Once you think the extraction process is complete, pass the contents of the jar through a cheesecloth and compost the leftover herb matter.
9. Store the tincture in large amber glass jars.
10. Decant the echinacea tincture into small jars with droppers for daily use.
11. Store all echinacea tincture in a dark, dry, cool place to retain potency.
Why Use Amber Glass Bottles and Jars to Make Echinacea Tincture?
We use high-quality amber, blue, or black glass bottles for making tinctures and other herbal preparations because of their light filtering properties. Sunlight rapidly breaks down herbal preparations, whether oils, tinctures, or just dried herbs.
And amber, blue, and black glass blocks much of the light waves that cause the damage. Plus, glass is inert, so unlike many other materials, it won’t react with or change the content of the bottle.
I like to use Ball amber 1-pint canning jars for the extraction process because they filter 99% of UV light, have a nice, wide mouth, and airtight, replaceable lids and bands. This 4-pack is pretty good value. Remember, a little tincture goes a long way, so there’s no need to make gallons all at once. A couple of pints is plenty for the whole family for a long time.
For storage of larger quantities, I use these Boston Round bottles – the same as I use for my healthful syrups. They are easy to clean, replacement lids are easy to find, and they do a great job of keeping their contents in perfect condition.
For tincture dosing, I use these smaller amber glass bottles with dropper caps. Why bother with separate bottles for storage and general dosing? Because the dropper caps make dosing so easy. Plus, the larger bottles remain sealed, preserving freshness and potency. I only open the larger bottles when I need to decant more tincture into the smaller daily use bottles.
FAQs
Echinacea tincture made with 80-proof alcohol lasts at least 5 years. An echinacea vinegar tincture lasts 3 years. An echinacea glycerite lasts 2 years.
Echinacea has a bit of harsh, bitter taste that most people are not fond of. However, it’s easily disguised and made palatable by adding it to a little honey or mixing with a little fruit juice.
Avoid any echinacea preparations if you have an autoimmune condition, MS, or HIV. And always, always check with your healthcare professional before taking any new herbal preparation, especially if you take other medications.
Sources and additional research:
*Hostettmann K. (2003). Geschichte einer Pflanze am Beispiel von Echinacea [History of a plant: the example of Echinacea]. Forschende Komplementarmedizin und klassische Naturheilkunde = Research in complementary and natural classical medicine, 10 Suppl 1, 9–12. [Original German report: https://doi.org/10.1159/000071678]
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2008.11.028
† Tsai YL, Chiu CC, Yi-Fu Chen J, Chan KC, Lin SD. Cytotoxic effects of Echinacea purpurea flower extracts and cichoric acid on human colon cancer cells through induction of apoptosis. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012;143(3):914-9.