EXTRACTION -
1. Pulverize the grass cuttings as much as you can. You must do this to rupture the cellular structure the plant. A good way is to put the plant material in the freezer overnight, remove the next day, thaw it, put it in the freezer again, and then remove and thaw it again. After two or three such cycles it will usually be mushy and easily minced in a blender. Place the phalaris in the blender when it is frozed and the blender will chop it easier.
2. Next add enough water to the much to make a pourable soup.
3. Now you must add an acid. Just enough to bring the PH down to about 5. You can use white vinegar, lemon juice, or acetic acid. Check the PH with PH paper, it is usually sold at most drug stores. The acid reacts with the alkaloids in the plant material and converts them into a salt. A good way to facilitate this reaction is to simmer the acidified soup in a slow cooker overnight; leave the lid on, as we don't want any liquid to evaporate.
4. Strain the plant matter through cheesecloth, then through a paper coffee filter. The bulk roughage may now be discarded because the alkaloids we seek have migrated into the aqueous solution.
5. Add a small percentage of a defatting solvent such as methylene chloride, ether, chloroform, or naphtha. Naptha is easily available in the form of Coleman fuel or lighter fluid. The reason we do this procedure is to remove the oils and fats which are in the solution - they will migrate into the solvent. Shake up the mixture and put it aside long enough to seperate into two layers, one aqueous, the other solvent. If you've ever made vinegar and oil salad dressing then you've seen this done.
6. A separatory funnel is useful for this next operation. This is a simple lab tool consisting of a tapered glass container with a tap at the bottom and a stoppered opening at the top. The two liquids are poured in the top (the bottom faucet is closed, of course); The container is corked and shaken about to mix its contents. It is then set aside until the fluids seperate into 2 layers. Then a tap is opened to allow the lower stratum to drain into a container. Just before the descending upper fraction reaches the faucet, it is closed off. You can also do the above separation procedure with a turkey baster
Discard the solvent (along with the unwanted oils and fats) and now the remaining aqueous solution contains the alkaloids.
7. The next step is to add a base to our solution. One often used in extraction formulas is ammonium hydroxide, a liquid. If this is unobtainable you can substitute regular lye crystals. This is sold as drain cleaner and is also called sodium hydroxide. Dissolve this is water to a high concentration. This fluid is added in small increments to the aqueous solution, shaking the mixture each time, then testing it until eventually the pH reaches 9 or 10. Be patient. It usually takes a while to get it just right. Now you have 'unhooked' the salt and transformed the alkaloids into their freebase form. They are now no longer a salt, and hence no longer soluble in water... So now the are accessable to extraction by one of the organic solvents mentioned above. Using coleman starting fuel is best and easy to obtain.
8. A ratio of 10 percent of the aqueous solution should be enough solvent for each extraction. The easiest way to estimate this is to visualize where the 10% line is on your container of aqueous solution, then add that amount of solvent to the whole, increasing the volume to 110% (A super accurate measurement is not necessary) The container must be kept closed tightly so that the solvent won't evaporate from the solution.
9. Four extractions are made to make SURE that all of the alkaloids are removed. These are done at one 24-hour, and then at three weekly intervals. The solvent layer will soon take on a darker tint, usually yellowish or reddish-brown. This indicates the presence of alkaloids as they slowly move out of the aqueous solution. It will take almost a month to get most of them, and the mixture should be shaken at least twice a day to ensure that all of the alkaloid molecules come into contact with the solvent. At each weekly extraction carefully separate this from the aqeous solution be either of the methods mentioned above. Save these solvent fractions and combine them in one container. each time add fresh solvent to the aqeous solution until the extraction series is complete.
10. The last step is to pour the combined solvent fractions into a shallow baking dish or pan and allow it all to evaporate in an open space free from flame or sparks. The residue remaining after the evaporation contains the alkaloids, and may be put into gelatin capsules. If it is unduly gummy, one may add small amounts of ordinary flour to the gum until it thickens.
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