Establishing an herbal dispensary in your practice allows you to give the best possible care to your patients. With an herbal dispensary, you can prepare formulas immediately, even while patients wait, and you can customize formulas for individual patient needs.
What You Need to Start and Herbal Dispensary
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Approximately 100 of the most commonly used single herb extracts
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An easy-to-clean calculator or calculator sealed within a plastic bag
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A scale with a capacity of 400g
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Weighing papers or reusable weighing mats (made by laminating sheets of paper with your logo printed on them)
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One or more laboratory scoops
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One or more small funnels
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Empty bottles and caps with tamper-evident seal
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Adhesive labels
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A heat gun and plastic heat shrink
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Plastic measuring spoons
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Baskets able to hold approximately 15 bottles of single herb extracts
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An ergonomic, easy-to-clean work surface
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One or more bookcases with adequate shelving for all herbs and supplies
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Clear gelatin or vegetarian capsules (optional)
Items 1-10 are available as part of the Treasure of the East® Herbal Dispensary Starter Kit. Please contact us for more information.
How to Prepare Formulas in Standard 100-gram Bottles
To determine how much of each ingredient in a formula is needed to prepare a 100-gram bottle of the formula, sum the prescribed quantities of all ingredients to arrive at the prescribed total (77g in the example below). Then, divide the number of grams of each single herb by the prescribed total and then multiply by 100.
With a laboratory scoop, measure out the calculated quantities of each herbal extract on your weighing mat. You may transfer each extract to your bottle as you weigh it or you may tare your scale and continue to add to previously weighed extracts. Many practitioners prefer to place a plastic measuring spoon inside each bottle before sealing the cap tightly to activate the tamper-evident inner seal. Finally, add a personalized label with the patient’s name and date of formulation, and seal the cap with plastic heat shrink.
Recommended Dosage
The recommended dosage for 5:1 concentrated herbal extracts is 4.5 grams of granules, dissolved in hot water, taken two to three times a day. Treasure of the East provides complementary 1.5g measuring spoons with each order; a dose of 4.5 grams is equivalent to three level measuring spoons or one level teaspoon. For encapsulated formulas, the recommended dosage is three to six 500mg capsules, three times a day.
Questions?
If you have any questions about starting a dispensary or wish to consult with an experienced herbalist, please contact us at info@treasureofeast.com or 1-888-BLUE-LIT (1-888-258-3648).