Macerated

So is a Macerato

Macerate is a liquid preparation obtained by prolonged immersion of a vegetable source, in water or other liquids strictly at room temperature. THE

In particular, the macerate is indicated above all to extract active ingredients of herbal or pharmaceutical interest, water-soluble but thermolabile (inactivated by heat) or volatile (which are lost by evaporation).

The effectiveness of maceration also depends on the degree of subdivision of the drug, which must be appropriately chopped, avoiding coarse cuts.

How it is prepared

The macerate is therefore a rather simple extraction method, used on those medicinal plants whose active ingredients are soluble in cold water *. In this regard, it is sufficient to immerse the appropriately chopped drug in water at room temperature and then leave it to rest in a covered container, for periods ranging from a few hours to several days.

The aqueous macerate is known for its ability to effectively extract mucilage from the roots of Altea (protective and emollient, laxative action), and the "arbutin from the leaves of Ursina, reducing - compared to the infusion - the amount of extracted tannins (which have an action irritant at the gastric level, while the "arbutin carries out an" antiseptic activity at the urinary level, useful against cystitis).

Before taking, the macerate must generally be carefully filtered through a sieve or cloth; the insoluble residue of the maceration is called lees.

Compared to the decoction and the infusion, the macerate therefore allows to preserve heat-sensitive substances, but has the disadvantage of requiring long preparation times.

* As a solvent for maceration, alcohol, ether, vinegar, wine, oil, etc. can be used instead of water.

By subjecting the drug to a whole series of successive macerations it is possible to obtain an almost total recovery of its soluble components, that is to say "the" exhaustion "of the drug itself.

Digestion

If the temperature of the solvent is between 30 ° and 50 ° C we no longer speak of maceration but of digestion.

Macerodecection

The macerate can also be used to soften a very hard drug in water before making a decoction; in these cases we speak of macerodeception.

Examples

• Cold macerate based on Altea against gastritis

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