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Open Source Apothecary At Home / Reference
The dose with evidence, in one table. A preparation is not a dose until it has a weight, a volume and a time.
guideEvery remedy page on this site gives the preparation and the dose the trials used. This page collects them so that a person can see the range and the consistency.
The rule that makes the rest of it work: a preparation is not a dose until it has a weight, a volume and a time. "A cup of tea" and "a dropperful of tincture" are not doses. A 1:5 tincture and a 1:2 tincture of the same plant differ several-fold per dropperful, and a tea steeped for two minutes and one steeped for fifteen differ in what they contain.
Read the table as the starting point, not the ceiling or the floor. These are the amounts used in the studies cited on each page. Where a study used a standardised commercial extract, a home preparation is a different preparation and the trial does not transfer to it — which is stated on the individual pages.
Two general cautions that belong with every number below. Start at the lower end and increase, which is the opposite of what the supplement industry implies. And the dose-response curve is sometimes a U, so "more" is not a safe default — the potassium and blood pressure example is the clearest case in this handbook, and it is not the only one.
None of these figures is a paediatric dose. Children are covered on their own page and the answer there is usually that the evidence does not exist and a clinician should decide.
The present analysis revealed the beneficial effects of quinoa on the blood glucose level.PubMed 36847233 ↗
Herbal medicines may be effective in the treatment of HT, especially in reducing thyroid antibody levels and improving clinical symptoms without affecting thyroid function.PubMed 38181936 ↗
Our study did not show a clinical benefit of H. sabdariffa extract in obesity treatment.PubMed 38878905 ↗
The current analysis results show that acupuncture combined with Chinese medicine seems to have a more positive effect than western medicine alone in improving sleep and FSHF in PMI patients, but no difference has been found in improving E2 and LH.PubMed 37960761 ↗
| Plant / preparation | Form used in the trials | Typical daily amount | |---|---|---| | Peppermint oil (IBS) | Enteric-coated capsule | 180-200 mg, 2-3 times daily before meals | | Peppermint, tea | Infusion, covered | 1-2 g dried leaf per 250 mL, 1-3 cups | | Ginger (nausea, pregnancy) | Dried powder, capsule or tea | ~1 g dried, divided | | Ginger (dysmenorrhoea) | Dried powder | 750-2000 mg, from 1-3 days before the period | | STW 5 (dyspepsia) | Licensed combination | 20 drops or 1 tablet, 3 times daily before meals | | Psyllium | Powder in water | 5-10 g, with 250-300 mL water | | Senna | Standardised tea or tablet | As labelled; short-term, at night | | Turmeric / curcumin | Standardised extract | 500-1500 mg curcuminoids, divided; with an absorption strategy | | Boswellia | Standardised extract | 300-400 mg boswellic acids, 2-3 times daily | | Rosehip | Standardised powder | 5 g | | Devil's claw | Standardised extract | Per label; not in pregnancy | | Horse chestnut (aescin) | Standardised extract | 50 mg aescin, twice daily | | Riboflavin (migraine) | Tablet | 400 mg | | Magnesium (migraine) | Citrate or glycinate | 400-600 mg | | Feverfew | Dried leaf or standardised | 50-150 mg leaf; taper off | | Butterbur | PA-free certified extract only | 50-75 mg, twice daily | | Beetroot juice (BP) | Juice | 250 mL | | Hibiscus (BP) | Infusion | 1.5-2 g per 250 mL, 2-3 cups | | Plant sterols (LDL) | Fortified food or supplement | 2-3 g with meals | | Bergamot polyphenols | Standardised extract | Per label | | Berberine | Capsule | 500 mg, 2-3 times daily before meals | | Cinnamon (glucose) | Ceylon, powder | 1-3 g, in food or capsules | | Fenugreek (glucose, lactation) | Ground seed | 1-2 teaspoons | | Alpha-lipoic acid | Capsule | 600 mg | | Myo-inositol (PCOS) | Powder or capsule | 2 g, twice daily | | Iron | Ferrous sulfate or equivalent | 65 mg elemental iron every other day | | Calcium | Dietary and supplement | To the recommended intake, 500 mg or less per dose | | Vitamin D | Tablet | 600-800 IU daily | | Kava | Standardised root extract | 120-250 mg kavalactones, divided | | Oral lavender | Licensed standardised capsule | 80 mg | | Passionflower | Infusion or extract | 1-2 g dried herb, 2-3 times daily | | Ashwagandha | Standardised root extract | 300-600 mg | | Rhodiola | Standardised extract | 200-400 mg, morning | | St John's wort | Standardised extract | 300 mg, 3 times daily (0.3% hyperforin) | | Saffron (mood) | Standardised extract | 30 mg | | Melatonin | Tablet | 0.5-3 mg, 30-60 min before bedtime | | Valerian | Standardised root extract | 300-600 mg, 30-60 min before bed | | Honey (cough, over 1 year) | Plain or in a warm drink | 1-2 teaspoons as needed | | Zinc (cold) | Acetate or gluconate lozenge | ~75 mg elemental zinc, divided; no intranasal form | | Nettle (allergic rhinitis) | Freeze-dried leaf | 300 mg, 2-3 times daily | | Tea tree oil (acne) | 5% in a carrier gel | Twice daily to the affected area | | Lemon balm (cold sores) | 1% cream | 2-4 times daily from the first tingle | | Vitex (PMS) | Standardised extract | 20-40 mg, continuously | | Black cohosh (menopause) | Standardised extract | 20-40 mg | | Soy isoflavones | Extract or food | 40-80 mg | | Boric acid (vaginal) | Vaginal capsule | 600 mg nightly, 7-14 days; never orally | | Saw palmetto (BPH) | Liposterolic extract | 320 mg; did not beat placebo in the large trials | | Cranberry (UTI prevention) | Juice or capsule | 240-360 mL juice, or 36 mg PACs | | D-mannose | Powder in water | 2 g | | Ginkgo | Standardised extract | Per label; did not prevent dementia in large trials | | Bacopa | Standardised extract | 300 mg |
Infusion and decoction reference
| Preparation | Proportion | Method | |---|---|---| | Infusion (leaf, flower) | 1-2 g per 250 mL | Water at 95-98 C, covered, 5-10 min | | Cold infusion (mucilage) | 1-2 g per 250 mL | Cold water, refrigerated 6-12 h | | Decoction (root, bark, seed) | 2-3 g per 250 mL | Cold-soak 30 min, simmer covered 15-30 min | | Tincture | 1:5 dried at 40-50% (leaf) / 60-70% (root) | Macerate 2-6 weeks, press | | Glycerite | 1:3-1:5, 60-80% glycerol with water | Macerate 4-6 weeks | | Infused oil | Dried plant, 40-60 C, 2-4 h | Strain, store dark | | Salve | 10-12 g wax per 100 mL oil (soft) | 20 g for firm | | Oral rehydration solution | 1 L water + 6 tsp sugar + 1/2 tsp salt | Stir; do not add more |