Total plant extracts offer a complex of active substances that act in synergy and offer full-spectrum therapeutic action, unlike monosubstances which, due to their unilateral, aggressive action, can potentially modify biological equilibrium and provoke undesirable side effects.
A.Vogel Standards
Raw materials
As a general rule, active principles originate in one or several of the plant’s parts. Only those parts are used. The quantity and quality of a plant’s active principles are closely linked to three groups of factors that are an integral part of the manufacturing process that A.Vogel calls “phyto-standards.”
This process aims at yielding plant extracts that are therapeutically more effective, while also being as consistent as possible from one year to the next. A.Vogel therefore controls the following variables:
- Genetic factors: Seed uniformity, irreproachable quality and the greatest possible similarity of genetic characteristics are essential. A.Vogel therefore resorts to its own seeds, as well as organic, controlled and balanced cultivation methods that allow the factors responsible for variations to be strictly controlled.
- Cultivation locations: Consistent environmental conditions are essential to the consistency of plants’ active principles from one harvest to the next. It has been scientifically demonstrated that the content of active principles varies greatly according to the soil in which plants are grown, which is why A.Vogel stresses the importance of cultivating its own plants: we make sure to optimize growing conditions. Plants are grown in the very same locations from one year to the next to minimize variations caused by the soil and other variables. The weather, which is unpredictable by definition, remains the only uncontrolled variable.
- Different harvest times: The moment chosen for harvesting is one of the three factors responsible for active principles content in plants. By testing our plants in our laboratory at certain stages of their development, we have determined the best time to harvest for optimum results.
Manufacturing and processing
Fresh plants are picked and quickly conditioned with the greatest of care. After being cleaned and cut, plants are macerated in a natural solvent of alcohol and water, whose ratio varies according to the type of plant and the active principles it contains.
This method has been shown to be the most effective way to extract all of a plant’s soluble active substances. Other methods, such as the use of glycerine or cider vinegar as solvents, extract only part of the plant’s active principles and not their sum.
Did you know?
|
After maceration, the herb-alcohol-water mixture is pressed and filtered, the end product being a naturally pure tincture of medicinal plants, which we bottle in amber coloured containers to protect the tincture from light. A dropper is included with the bottles to prevent contamination.
A.Vogel tinctures undergo no further processing. Consequently, they contain all the active principles of the plants from which they were extracted, rather than just a few isolated active substances.
In other words, A.Vogel tinctures are whole plant extracts:
- from medicinal plants, most of which are fresh and organically grown;
- that contain all of the plant’s soluble substances;
- whose action provides a broad-spectrum effect.
Quality Assurance
Thanks to its on-site laboratories equipped with leading-edge technology, A.Vogel can ensure rigorous, continuous quality. Any batch of raw materials or finished product that fails to meet its exacting standards is automatically rejected. Click here for more information on A.Vogel quality!
