III. Answer the questions:

1. What solutions are administered in small dosage?

2. What are dissolved in alcoholic or in hydro-alcoholic media?

3. What are tinctures?

4. What can you say about elixirs?

5. What will be said about infusions?

6. Are polymerization reactions carried out in emulsions?

7. What may be used as pleasant-tasting solvents for drugs?

IV. Match the adjectives from the text with appropriate nouns

fluid	constituents
plant	drug
crude	origin
medical	flavor
pleasant	stability
mechanical	molecules
detergent	substance
animal	extract

V. Retell the text

VI. Read and translate the text below. Tinctures - What are they and how do you use them?

What is a tincture you may ask... Tinctures are liquid extracts made from herbs that you take orally . They are usually extracted in alcohol, but they can also be extracted in vegetable glycerin or apple cider vinegar (non-alcohol). Tinctures are easy and convenient to use. Tinctures are also easier to give to children as they have to take only small amounts. Because they are taken directly under the tongue, they enter the bloodstream much more directly than by any other means. This means that the action in the body is usually quicker. Although some herbs will have an immediate effect, such as those used to help one relax.  Others that are more nutritive and building in nature. Nutritive tinctures may take several weeks of continual use before best results are seen.

Tinctures are usually taken by the dropperful. A dropperful is the amount of liquid that fills the glass tube of the dropper when the bulb on the dropper top is squeezed and released. The liquid may fill the glass tube only a small portion of the way, but that is considered a "dropperful". A dropperfulequalsapproximately 30 drops.

VII. Find the synonyms to the word combinations from the text.

liquid	comfortable
extract	simpler
herb	essence
orally	proximately
convenient	grass
easier	by mouth
directly	up-to the minute
immediate	ease
relax	squeeze
dropperful	fluid

VIII. Read and translate the text below Storage of your Herbal Products

Herbal products come in many forms - teas, tinctures (liquid extracts), capsules, tablets, compresses, poultices, salves, creams, baths, footbaths (to name a few!), and of course, used in foods!  Here is how to care and store some of the most frequently used forms of herbal products:

DriedHerbs.If possible, store your dried herbs in a glass container, which will keep them fresh longer. Using dark glass will help to further keep light out, which ages the herb more quickly and can compromise its quality.  A dried herb should appear vibrant in color and have a wonderful smell to it.  Even though it’s dried, it should have an “alive” vibrancy to it – you should be able to sense the life in it!

Tinctured HerbsAlcohol-based tinctures are fairly easy to keep, as the alcohol acts as an effective preservative.  It is still recommended to store them in a cool, dark cupboard, to ensure high quality and product longevity. 

For non-alcohol tinctures, it is important to keep these in a cool, dark cupboard, away from any heat source or light.  Storing these above your stove or near a heater can compromise herb quality or even cause mold to grow.  The vegetable glycerin in the non-alcohol tincture has some preservative properties, but not much.  This means that your product will have a shorter shelf life (still 3-5 years) and is more susceptible to being contaminated and perhaps even cultivating some mold.  Because of this (and because the glass tube could be broken if bitten), NEVER allow your child to suck on the glass dropper tube.  Always check your non-alcohol tinctures each time before you shake them up and before you take them to make sure they are still in good condition.  It’s rare to have a tincture get moldy, but it can happen.  If it does, it’s quite obvious to see visually – it will have a whitish patch floating on top of the dark tincture liquid.  If you find that you do have a moldy tincture, throw it away and do not use it.

Capsules should come in a dark glass or plastic container, or a solid colored container designed to keep as much light out as possible.  Store these away from heat sources also.  With capsules, the herb must be ground into such a small particle in order to fit into the small capsule that the herb tends to lose its potency more quickly than a more whole herb part would.  

It is recommended that you keep all forms of herbal products in a cool, dark location, even your cooking spices. Many people store their cooking spices above their stove. The heat from the stove will rapidly cause the herbs and spices to lose their vitality, rich flavor and potency. And, as with cooking herbs, freshness of your medicinal herbs makes a difference in how well the herb will work for you!