This exhaustive guide will be the medicine-making bible for clinical herbalists, alternative medical practitioners, and herb enthusiasts, providing detailed step-by-step instructions, how-to information, and “why-to” explanations so that herbalists can confidently move from following the recipes of others to designing and preparing their own recipes.

More and more people are turning to herbal remedies for healing, whether they are purchasing the remedies or making them on their own.  Herbalists want their clients to have good experiences with these remedies, both to help them heal and to foster a positive regard for herbs and the healing power of nature by extension. This in-depth guide teaches readers all aspects of making herbal medicines with respect, care, and understanding that are as safe, efficacious, and accurate as possible, and will provide detailed step-by-step instructions to guide even the most inexperienced or anxious medicine maker. The how-to information will be backed up with thorough “why-to” explanations so that herbalists can confidently move from following the recipes of others to designing and preparing their own recipes. 

Individual chapters will address making herbal extractions in water, oils and fats, alcohol, vinegar, honey, glycerin, and other media. In addition, Bancroft devotes chapters to the roles of fermentation and distillation in medicine making. Herbal Pharmacy will also cover all the practical aspects of administering herbal remedies: figuring dosage, duration of care, and the specifics of deciding how to apply a remedy to produce the best outcome. A chapter on apothecary management rounds out the book, which is sure to be hailed as the standard modern reference for herbal medicine making.

About The Author

Betzy Bancroft is a well-respected member of the herbalist community, and she has been teaching herbal medicine making for more than three decades at herbalism schools and events. This book draws on her wealth of practical experience in making herbal medicines as well as her talents for explaining complicated science in terms that are easy to grasp, especially the chemistry involved in herbal extraction. 

Betzy is one of the founders of the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, where she teaches pharmacology of herbs and formulation classes and is a mentor for clinical interns. She is a regular presenter at the Vermont NOFA winter conference, has presented workshops at the International Herbal Symposium and has been a speaker at the American Herbalist Guild Conference. She is on the board of United Plant Savers. This is her first book.