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Infusion - Herb tea : Approximately 1 spoonful of plant for a cup of boiling water to let infuse 10 minutes in boiling water ; drink 1 to 3 cups a day. Decoction : Put the plants in cold water, boil 10 to 30 minutes. Maceration - Soaking : Put the plant in a cold liquid (wine, water, alcohol, oil). The time of soaking depends on the plant generaly not more than 10 hours. Cataplasm : Plant preparation pasty enough to be applied on the skin to get a curative action. The plant can be crushed hot or cold or mixed with linseed meal in order to get a good consistency. The traditional linseed meal cataplasm is prepared with water in which one mix the linseed meal. To be cooked gently while stirring up constantly to obtain desired consistency. It is used as a support for substances which will be applied on it at the time of application (mustard powder, marsh mallow powder...). Compress : Application of a gauze on the part of the body to be cured. The gauze is initialy soaked with the preparation to be used. Tincture : Plant maceration in alcohol (Rum, brandy, vodka ...), generaly one part of plant for 5 parts of alcohol, let soak 2 to 3 weeks and filter. Cream : Semi-fluid mixture, naturally produced by certain plants in the form of latex, but more often prepared by diluting active ingredients in a substrate of glycerids. One spreads out the creams over the skin and, they penetrate by friction. Fumigation : Use of vapors charged of active ingredients from the plant. One can boil eucalyptus leaves in a room to be disinfected. The smoke of some plants slowly burned can also be used for fumigations such as incense or juniper berries. Gargarism - Gargling : Liquid preparation which one rinses the mouth, the throat, the pharynx, amygdalae. It is used to disinfect or calm. The gargarism should never be swallowed. Medicinal oil : Fruits and seeds of many plants give, when they are pressed, some vegetal oils, (do not confuse with essential oil, which is not a fat substance). One can make macerate roots or dried drugs in it to carry out medicinal oils. Some are used in friction, others are absorbed by oral way. Inhalation : Kind of fumigation in which the patient breathes directly the therapeutic vapors while placing his head above the container where aromatic extracts dissolves in almost boiling water. One makes inhalations to relieve sinusitis and lungs. Milk : Liquid obtained when one crushes oleaginous seeds in water. Almond milk is made this way. Lotion : Liquid preparation to wash the skin. One do it with an absorbent cotton. There are special lotions for the scalp. Powders : One make powder by crushing desiccated plants or their active parts. The powders can be used for making extracts, mixed in water or added to the food. Syrup : One does syrup by cooking an infusion or a maceration to which one add sugar and sometimes aromatizing. Tonic wine : One makes medicinal wines by making soak barks, roots or leaves of certain species in wine. One thus makes wine of cinnamon, quinquina, gentian, and others.
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