About Sound Spirit’s Usnea Tincture
Our tincture is made from a lichen called Usnea, sometimes called ‘Old Man’s Beard Moss’ harvested sustainably and ethically from an organic macadamia farm on the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia.
If you haven’t already, click here to find out more about Usnea including how I’ve used it as a natural antibiotic and natural antiviral in our blog section.
Properties
There are at least 30 active chemicals present in all the Usnea species but the most studied is Usnic acid. There are hundreds of research papers on Usnea that vary from a petri dish, animal and human studies. Usnic acid is used in numerous approved medical products.
When taking all of this into account in producing a list of Usnea’s proven and potential effects, the result is pretty spectacular. These include but are not limited to the following:
- antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic, antiseptic and anti-cancer properties.
- immune stimulant, analgesic and an antioxidant.
- effective specifically for staph, strep, Clostridium, bacterial tuberculosis, acne, diphtheria, candida, sepsis
- effective generally for infections of the urinary, gastrointestinal and upper respiratory tracts
This list is produced from several sources, most prominently ‘Herbal Anitbiotics’ by Stephen Harrod Buhner and pubmed searches.
Tincture Process
Usnea is a very tough plant that does not readily release its active ingredients. For example if you harvest some and just put it whole in a tea, you get very little benefit.
Therefore, we use a 3 stage process to create a potent tincture.
Firstly, it’s prepared using freshly harvested and finely chopped and/or food processed Usnea of several different species. Then, in a ratio of 1:5 (1 part lichen to 5 parts liquid) a dual extraction tincture process begins by first slow-cooking in water (rain or spring) for 2 days, followed by the final stage where the Usnea/water mix is combined with pure grain spirit alcohol for 2 weeks to 1 month to ensure maximum extraction of active ingredients.
The High Strength uses a 90%+ spirit.
Most tinctures, even from herbalists, only extract Usnea with one method for a matter of hours using powdered imported product brought from another supplier i.e they are weak and not fresh at all.
Dosage
The High Strength 100ml bottles will tend to last about 3 to 6 months for 1 – 2 adults depending on how many illness you need to treat in that period.
There is a noticeable difference though when treating a severe illness whereby increased doses can be required
For example, when treating a harsh cold or flu, I would have about 1 to 2ml, 3 times a day of the high strength.
Safety
According to Stephen Buhner, usnea lichens are extremely safe for herbal use.
A specific weight loss product that contained usnic acid (along with other powerful compounds) and taken at a high dose caused liver toxicity in a small number of people. Unfortunately, this has lead to misleading claims that Usnea should not be taken by people with liver issues or that ‘usnea causes liver damage’ – which is a sensationalist generalisation and not true at all. But, to be on the safe side consult with a GP and get regular blood tests to monitor liver function.
As mentioned by Stephen Buhner, it should not be used internally during pregnancy.
Ordering Info
Please make contact via what ever form works best for you, details on the contact page. We will send you through an email with all the details.
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Maha Farm Australia 