How to make St. John's Wort Oil
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- Learn how to make a beautiful RED St. John's Wort Oil. It's so incredible to see it change from a clear yellow color to a deep robust red! Has many uses too! Don't miss them in my other video (Watch this BEFORE using St. John's Wort)
My podcast episode on St. John's Wort!
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Podcast episode is up! - Check it out here -> herbanmythsandmedicine.com/2021/01/st-johns-wort-clinical-depression/
Thanks much for the video on making St Johnswort oil. I fini@hed Moines this afternoon and when my the plant material hit my body,vi as veery happy. That's the happiest Ib get, wor(oing with
St Johnswort
This is my favorite oil, have you used it before? Also, don't forget to check out the link to sign up for my new upcoming podcast if you're interested! (Link the the description)
Make sjw oil every year ( if I can find the flowers) we use it on open wounds.,even bed sores...they heal miraculously .🌻🌿
You missed for how many days is this process. Thanks
Thanks for the video! I made some St John's Wort infused olive oil a few days ago and had it in a water bath on low heat for quite a long time but the oil never developed that red color that everyone refers to. I started making it for depression, but I am not following a strict recipe, I chopped up some plant and covered it with olive oil. Have a great day
Do you use drops? How many??
Yes. My olive oil did the same. No red colour. I made it before but perhaps I used a different oil because my first batch was red.
Love your videos! Keep up the good work!!
Thanks so much, I definitely will! :D
You are such a respectful man
Thanks!
Love the content, always informative and I usually learn something new in every video 👍 I just feel obligated to throw this out there for your viewers because it's so important:
Don't ever use dried hypericum for your preparations; I know it's harder to make an oil with fresh or lightly wilted material, but it's an important safety thing for hypericum, which is far more prone to cause photosensitivity in skin with extractions from dried material (this includes oil for skin or tincture to consume)
Some unsolicited tricks to reduce the risk of oil spoilage due to moisture in fresh plant matter:
🌼 Do what Jessy did & infuse for a shorter period of time than you would other oils
🌼 Use older, drier plants like shown here, or lightly wilt them using a dehumidifier or by letting them sit out for half a day. They should be drier, but no where near crispy/crumbly
🌼 Decant after straining; that is, let the oil sit & separate for a day or so & pour off the pure oil from the top for storage while leaving the little bit at the bottom. Oil floats, water sinks, so if there's risk of moisture in your beautiful oil, it will be here. Use this little bit more immediately, or store in the fridge
(I also wouldn't expose any medicinal oil to direct UV light [heat is fine] or oxygen while infusing, but I don't think doing so affects hypericum's tendency to cause photosensitivity, so to each their own)
Remember, it takes only 5 sunburns before you turn 18 years old to double your risk of malignant melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer), so please take steps to protect your skin from burns when using hypericum; this starts with safe preparation
I’m very curious about this. I hadn’t heard it before! Do you have a source you can point me to about the dried plant material being more likely to cause photosensitivity? I’d love to read up on it!
@@FeralForaging Unfortunately, there is no single source on the risk of phototoxicity from using dried plant material specifically, but phototoxicity from using hypericum is well documented in clinical trials (that's why human trials in treating HIV with hypericin were halted, there's also a case where someone blistered under a therapeutic laser after using hypericum of course) & agriculture, where grazing livestock ingested dried hypericum, got severe blistering burns in the sun & experienced infection with loss of appetite that eventually killed them (by the way, it's illegal to grow hypericum in some agro states for this reason, gardeners beware... Might be a lot of compendia on the phenomenon in agro studies).
You'll find all over the internet anecdotal reports of people who took st. johns wort (sjw) for depression & got a really bad sunburn, rash, or similarly affected vision, usually not so severe as to blister up (a human's digestive system is far less efficient at drawing constituents than that of a livestock animal after all), but every dermatologist ever would agree that THE SUN IS A LASER (jk) & that there is NO safe sunburn. It is notable that most of these consumer reports do not specify if dried or fresh material was used to make the remedy (capsules is always dried), & it probably never occurred to them to ask before purchasing
The idea that it could be dried sjw causing this risk of phototoxicity is an academically understudied topic & comes purely from well practiced herbalists superimposing their experiences for context (which notably lacks issues with photosensitivity using their home remedies from fresh sjw) with indisputable empirical data:
Here's a report of baby calfs experiencing phototoxicity; they note that the material was dried & hypericin content was subsequently reduced: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0021997581900530
Here's a list of studies on hypericin & related constituents: www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/hypericin
Link Summery:
🌼The 1st indicates that hypericin may actually be protective against UV damage
🏵️ (The 2nd talks about it's applications against viruses)
🌼 The 3rd & 4th investigates/speculates why hypericin may lead to phototoxicity instead
🏵️ (The 5th talks about it's possible applications against ovarian cancer)
🌼 The 6th looks like a clinical study on how hypericin & other constituents in hypericum behave in the human body. They note that, together, these constituents create a complex reaction, indicating that each one may affect how another behaves
🏵️ (The 7th talks about risk for children nursing on mothers who take sjw out of concern that hypericin can cross the blood-brain barrier & inhibit prolactin)
🌼 The 8th investigates how to improve synthetic hypericin which, among other disadvantages, is an unstable molecule & is confirmed to cause photosensitivity
🌼 The 9th seems to be a good overview of a lot of the above & then some, also indicating that hypericin could increase risk of UV damage in eyes even with protective sunglasses
🏵️ (And finally the 10th talks about how hypericin can contraindicate other medications by making our livers more efficient at processing them out of our systems)
The above information has lead some herbalists to conclude that the act of drying sjw may evaporate protective constituents, like hypericin, and/or make other constituents more available to the menstruum so that what's left of the protective ones are unable to compensate
The backbone of this idea of using only fresh sjw largely came to me from Susun Weed, a very long practiced herbalist from NY. For these reasons, she will never use remedies made with dried sjw, high proof/"grain" alcohol, and nothing in a capsule; these tend to illicit the worst reactions in her experience. She does, interestingly, use sjw oil to protect the skin from sunburn & radiation therapy. She has a few books & UA-cams out there, but where she details phototoxicity with sjw the most is on her podcast at Blog Talk Radio, like at 22:18 on this episode: www.blogtalkradio.com/susunweed/2019/05/14/ask-herbal-health-expert-susun-weed--guide-to-divination-nancy-vedder-shults
April Graham also touches on it a little in her UA-cam channel: ua-cam.com/video/vyHmXKJyBV0/v-deo.html
One final thought on the topic that may or may not at all apply to sjw; it is known that certain essential oils can also cause phototoxicity in skin. It is believed they contain chemicals, such as coumarins or furanocoumarins, which may behave like a molecular sized lense to UV light, amplifying the damage under certain conditions, and bending/scattering the light protectively in others. I can't seem to find the study, but I remember coming across one where they were investigating either the photo-protective or antioxidant quality of peppermint oil & ended up inducing phototoxicity; the molecular lense was their speculation to what might have happened
“As you can see by my gestures…we need to take it off camera” 😂 haha thats quite a quote!
Just found this excellent video! Questions: do you rub this on your skin to help alleviate pain from bruising or for joint pain? And will it turn (stain) skin red? Would like more specific “how to use this oil topically” please. Can I make jelly out of the flowers?
Yes, I rub on skin. Doesn't stain skin any color. I wouldn't make a flower jelly because this plant is very bitter!
Use comfrey root for pain
Was this dry herb or fresh? Because from my understanding to get the dye it must be fresh
That is gorgeous!
Awesome work!! Super informative video and easy to follow😊
Thank you, my friend! Next year you'll have to try!
But sun is the great degrader. Get a bun warmer and leave it to set for 4 weeks. A tablespoon or so of everclear will also make your oil shelf stable. Also, if you macerate with a blender, you'll get a faster, better infusion.
Thank you for sharing these tips!
You are so welcome!
Thanks for the video! One quick question, it seems there is a little debate on whether to put the herb infused oil in the sun for a solar infusion or to put it in a dark cool place, does this depend on whether the herbs are fresh or dried? Or is it depending on how fast you want it done, ie couple weeks vs couple months? And what about light supposedly breaking down the compounds in the oil? What are your thoughts on this? It seems to be an ongoing debate I come across….
Great great question. So I actually have a pretty good idea of where this debate comes from. I believe it is actually a misunderstanding between two of the main chemicals in SJW. Hyperforin, which IS photosensitive and will break down and Hypericin which is NOT photosensitive and actually seems to do better with heat and sunlight. For oil, I only care about getting out Hypericin. I actually cover this with my partner in detail in our SJW podcast episode if you're interested! The section we talk about it is - "Chemical Constituents of St. John's Wort" - herbanmythsandmedicine.com/2021/01/st-johns-wort-clinical-depression/
How do you use this oil topically?
I am also in the Southeast and just found
Hypericum densiflorum (Bushy St John's Wort) on my property.
I plan to harvest soon, so I'd love to know
That species likely won’t work the same. I just rub it on my skin.
Just found your video and it’s so easy to follow. I understand that SJW is beneficial for nerve pain. My husband has had it since going thru Chemo for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma a few years ago. It’s getting really bad in his feet. Have you heard (read) anything about this? I am interested in using the oil with beeswax to make a salve. Any recommendations would be appreciated!
Priscilla, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's pain. :/ I'm afraid that I'm not experienced or qualified to comment on the matter. An herbalist that I can recommend is Sam Coffman of Herbal Medics. One thing that I do know is that turning into a salve mainly just helps with being able to store and carry the product around. If you're just keeping it in your home, you can use it as oil right away!
how long did you leave it to soak in the oil? Great vid, thank you!!
Glad you liked it! I left it for about a week on my window sill and then two weeks in my hot car.
@@FeralForaging ooh cool thank you !
Hello. first of all, very good video. I have a question, could the flowers be dried before macerating them? I mean, because of the humidity problem .. Thanks
You could dry them assuming you're going for hypericin for the red oil. I would use them right after drying though. A friend of mine tried to make oil from flowers that had been stored for a while dry and it didn't turn red at all!
@@FeralForaging I understand .. thanks for answering!
@@inventorel1232 You are welcome!
Thanks but what do we use it for. Helps to tell lol.
Hi can you put some drops of the made oil into a glass of water and drink it? Thanks
I don't see why not, but if you're looking for internal use, I wouldn't go with an oil myself.
@@FeralForaging ok thanks for you're advice
You are very welcome
Does it have to be the flowers? I only have the herb
Give it a shot! I find the flowers render the red color better, but the herb definitely does too!
Does the uv light change the color to red,I have heard that when using Saint John's wort, it makes you sensitive to the sun, making you more likely to get sunburn
St John’s Wort actually helps heal burns. I believe it is the pill form that may cause sun sensitivity, but need to do a bit of research!
Thanks for the video bro. This plant does not grow in my country of Trinidad and Tobago. I was wondering if you can mail me some of those plants with flowers so I can make some St John's wort oil. Thanks a million, I'll pay you bro
Hi, can I do this with the dried herb itself?
I've never had success with being able to get out the red color with dried herb unless it has just been freshly dried. I believe with drying the chemical responsible for the red pigmentation degrades.
can you make this bright red oil with dried st johns wort?
Freshly dried, yes. SJW that was purchased dried and has been dried for a very long time, I’ve never had any success with.
Can I do this with chamomile
I’m not sure! I don’t think the oil would turn red.
I also want to do, especially the one in red attracted me :)
All you need is fresh St. John's Wort! :D
How long does it take for the red to develop? I think I may have foraged too soon. :{
In heat, about a day. Do you know what species you foraged?
@@FeralForaging Hi, I forged Hypericum perforatum in Northern California.
When you are foraging for it, if you run between your fingers you should see the red come off onto your skin a little bit.
@@FeralForaging Thanks! Lesson learned! I guess that's why harvesting St. John's Wort is typically done around Summer Solstice. I'm getting a little red development, but nothing like I got the year before when I made St. John's Wort Oil.
@@truthnfreedomseeker these are the experiences that teach us more about nature!
What is the name of this herb? Plz reply
St. John's Wort
@@FeralForaging what are the benefits of this plant for skin?
Traditionally it was used for bruising and bad cuts/wounds.
By the way, I wish I could be in such an environment. I'll use the oil for my hair and skin. Thank you very much 🍒
What kind of environment are you in?
What about botulism risk? Botulism likes no oxygen
Botulism is only in food. There is no oxygen in oil.
Very wrong procedure, temperature and light spoils the oil and its individuals. The procedure should be done in a dark-colored bottle to protect the oil from light and in shade with a constant temperature.
Or put the jar in a paperbag in a warm area ;)