How do I know what the saturation point is of a herb in a liquid?

[deruyityn]

I often wonder how do you know what the maximum extraction the water will absorb from a plant material?

How do you know youve got all the juices out and also how do you know what the optimum amount of water is? Ie the less the better but not so little that it wouldnt be able to absorb any more of a substance?

 

[flyhighk]

You'd have to find the solubility of each compound of interest in the plant, then it's easy math. Solvents other than water are also used, for example alcohol in tinctures.

We could be of more help if you tell us which plant you're interested in.

 

[sekio]

How do you know youve got all the juices out and also how do you know what the optimum amount of water is?

repeated extractions, and you measure it experimentally.

 

[deruyityn]

You'd have to find the solubility of each compound of interest in the plant, then it's easy math. Solvents other than water are also used, for example alcohol in tinctures.

We could be of more help if you tell us which plant you're interested in.

Dandelion currently. Though I just saw on ebay I can get powder as well, its a bit more expensive but alot easier to deal with since I can toss and wash and know im not wasting any then. However Im still interested in the general process for other things as the situation arises.

Since its so cheap it doesnt have to be that accurate does it so just keep extracting till the final extractions are clearer? Is that a good enough way?

How does a layman such as myself 'test solubility' of given materials?

Well I dont want to use alcohol.

What are the general chemistry principles involved so I can go look them up myself.

 

[sekio]

How does a layman such as myself 'test solubility' of given materials?

you measure it empirically

figuring out solubility figures for single compounds won't necessarily translate to mixtures, e.g. just because the solubility of, say, sugar or salt in water is a certain amount, doesn't mean you can dissolve that amount of e.g. sugar in a concentrated brine solution.

Since its so cheap it doesnt have to be that accurate does it so just keep extracting till the final extractions are clearer? Is that a good enough way?

that would be a good method. unless the compounds you're interested in are both colorless & have a high affinity for the plant material.

What are the general chemistry principles involved so I can go look them up myself.

well, you don't really need a knowledge of chemistry, more like handling it as a word problem. The general rule of thumb is, for substances that dissolve easily, 3 extractions is enough.

If every extraction pulls 80% of the juice out then
1st extraction will remove 80% = 80% total
2nd extraction will remove 80% of the 20% remaining (16% ) = 96% total
3rd extraction will remove 80% of the 4% remaining (3.2% ) = 99.2% total
4th extraction will remove 80% of the 0.8% remaining (0.64% ) = 99.84% total

 

[Hammilton]

Is there a defined way that increasing concentrations of other dissolved compounds affects the highest concentration you can achieve with a compound?