Broad-spectrum, full spectrum, and whole plant extracts have been used in the cannabis spaces as descriptive marketing terms since well cannabis extracts have been available to the public. Now for some reason we have spagyric extracts making headway in the cannabis spaces. Having studied alchemical processes during my college years. This term is nothing new to me and I see quite a few companies using it specifically within the hemp space. So to inform you the consumer to make better decision on the products you put into your body. I found it of pertinence to do a news article on spagyric. To be clear if we wanted to utilize this term at Texas Star we could. However, I find the term misleading because most individuals will not abide by the ancient alchemical processes. If you’ve never heard of alchemy here is a quick and simple definition along with the traditional definition.
Simple definition
-Alchemy is like a magical science from long ago. People used it to try to change ordinary things into something special, like turning metal into gold. But today, it's more about changing yourself to be better, like finding your inner strength and wisdom.
Traditional definition
-Alchemy is a philosophical and protoscientific tradition practiced throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. It aims to purify, mature, and perfect certain objects. In traditional Western alchemy, the transformation process involves the transmutation of base metals into noble metals, such as gold, and the discovery of a universal panacea, the elixir of life. However, modern interpretations focus more on spiritual and psychological transformation.
If these definitions seem to be something that has sparked interest for you and you’d like a quality introductory book. Please go research the Alchemists Handbook: A Practical Guide to Laboratory Alchemy by Frateur Albertus. It's important to note that creating spagyric extracts requires knowledge of alchemical principles and should be done with caution and respect for the plants used. So anyone claiming spagyric medicine in any way should be taken with a grain of salt. Now that that’s out of the way lets look at what spagyric medicine is.
- Some studies suggest that spagyric preparations may contain higher concentrations of bioactive compounds compared to traditional herbal extracts.
- Research on specific spagyric formulations and their effects on health outcomes is scarce.
- There is ongoing interest in exploring the potential benefits of spagyric medicine, but more rigorous scientific studies are needed to validate its effectiveness and safety.
Spagyric medicine is still made and used today, particularly in alternative and holistic health practices. While it may not be as widely known or practiced as conventional medicine, there are practitioners and companies that specialize in spagyric preparations. The process of creating spagyric extracts involves specific alchemical techniques aimed at enhancing the medicinal properties of plants. Some people believe that these methods can result in more potent and effective remedies, although scientific research on spagyric medicine is limited, and its efficacy is often debated. People are legitimately utilizing it in this modern day and age. However, in my opinion most are simply utilizing the term to be different and stand out from the competition. In other words it’s purely shady marketing practice because they don’t want to use the industry standard spectrum terms. So what are the definitions of spagyric alchemy, medicine, and extracts you may be asking about the extraction method to. Let’s overview these terms and the method. I think you’ll see why I stated that “spagyric medicine is more a shady marketing practice” than a utilized method.
- Spagyric Alchemy Definition: Spagyric alchemy is an ancient practice that combines principles of alchemy, herbalism, and holistic medicine. It involves the extraction, purification, and recombination of plant materials to create potent medicinal remedies.
- Spagyric Medicine Definition: Spagyric medicine refers to the medicinal products derived from the spagyric alchemical process. These medicines are believed to be more potent and holistic than standard herbal extracts due to the alchemical principles used in their preparation.
- Spagyric Extracts Definition: Spagyric extracts are herbal extracts prepared using the spagyric alchemical process. This process involves fermenting and distilling plant materials to extract their essential oils and other active compounds, followed by purification and recombination to create a more potent and balanced extract.
Spagyric Method
- Extraction: Begin by selecting the plant material you want to extract. This can be leaves, flowers, roots, or other parts of the plant. Grind the plant material into a fine powder.
- Fermentation: Place the powdered plant material in a glass jar and cover it with a solvent, such as alcohol or water. Allow the mixture to ferment for a period of time, typically several weeks to a month. This fermentation process helps break down the plant material and release its active compounds.
- Distillation: After fermentation, the mixture is distilled to separate the alcohol or water from the plant material. This process extracts the essential oils and other volatile compounds from the plant.
- Purification: The remaining plant material, known as the "salt," is calcined (burned to ash) to remove impurities and extract the mineral salts present in the plant. The ash is then dissolved in water and filtered to remove any remaining solids.
- Recombination: Finally, the purified essential oils and the mineral salts are recombined to create the spagyric extract. The extract is then typically aged for a period of time to allow the flavors and medicinal properties to develop fully.
At this point it is important to notice that to create a spagyric extract more commonly referred to as spagyric medicine. One must extract the botanical essence, burn the remaining botanical material to create the mineral salts, then recombine the salts into the botanical extract. When considering this method of creating medicine the most important part in my experience is a heavy consideration into hydrophobic (oil soluble, not water soluble) and hydrophilic (water soluble, not oil soluble). Ash and mineral salts as a whole typically are hydrophilic or water soluble. While cannabinoids are hydrophobic or oil soluble. To combine these two substances would require the mix of oil and water (not technically possible) or the combination of oil and ethanol (possible). So the question is are the producers claiming spagyric extract really going through the trouble of recombining two opposites into one product?
From my experience, I’d say this is highly doubtful. To use one of our own products as an example. Our tinctures contain mushrooms and cannabinoids. It took months to find a proprietary method to combine the mushrooms (hydrophilic) with the cannabinoids (hydrophobic) into oil. My guess is that most of the groups marketing spagyric medicine found the term and decided to use it as a market gimmick. Rather than actually figuring out how to properly formulate a true spagyric medicine. Now this isn’t me saying that all of the spagyric hemp extract on market is fake. I’m simply saying that most probably didn’t perform due diligence and needed a term to distinguish their product from everything else on market. Especially considering that you the consumer is way more educated on the nuances of cannabis than you were even 4 years ago.
In conclusion, if you want to try spagyric extract, spagyric medicine, take it with a grain of salt. The method of creating a spagyric extract and finally a spagyric medicine is not for the faint of heart. It also is not a common practice, so it’s a bit odd how many hemp companies within the last 6 months began selling spagyric extract. Do these medicines exist in the modern world? Yes they do. Are they common place? No they’re not. They’re not common place due to the formulation issue of hydrophobic (oil soluble) vs hydrophilic (water soluble). Last I’d like to note that if the company is using water soluble cannabinoids and saying spagyric extract. Don’t buy into it, water soluble cannabinoids can not be done via the spagyric method. As usual take all marketing within the hemp space with a grain of salt. 90% of product on market is the same thing with a fancier label or gimmick behind how it is presented to you the consumer.
