How do you measure herbs? It's not easy
Standard measures are just emerging
When herbalists talk about standardized labeling and content, they're talking about the level or potency of an extract's active compounds. What's emerging as a standard labeling system today refers to the content level of active compounds, rather than the concentration ratio, thus allowing dosages to be made based on active ingredient levels.
Herbal products can come in bulks, teas, tinctures, fluid extracts, tablets, or capsules. Content refers to the strength of known active principles, while concentration ratios usually refer to tinctures, which is an herb is soaked in a solvent after which the solution is pressed out to become a tincture.
A tincture concentration of, for example, a 1:5 ratio translates into one part herb (in grams) that's soaked in five parts liquid (in milliliters), resulting in a concentration that is five times the amount of solvent (normally alcohol and water) as there is herbal product.
Tinctures are giving way to measurements in standard extracts and active content. Standard extract dosage levels are based on active levels, not ratios or total extract weights. Quality control is easier to determine with standard extracts, and they are the basis of the guidelines used in Europe. There are relatively small amounts of actual herb content in tinctures and fluid extracts - very similar products - which consist mainly of alcohol, bottling, and packaging.
A good herbal label will include the common and Latin names, active components and specific standardized amounts of an herb, and the amount of extract, both in milligrams. And finally, the presence of any added preservatives and the recommended dosage are hallmarks of higher quality products, according to the experts.
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