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Tisserand wrote:

> Alcohol will extract chemicals from a plant that are not found in the

equivalent > essential oil or absolute, such as alkaloids, and so a tincture may

present risks > that the equivalent essential oil would not.

> I wish these dangers did not exist, but they do, so if you're tincturing

something > that you're not sure about, do some research on the safety profile

of the plant, or > check with the group, and stay safe. This isn't just about

the people who are going > to use your products, it's about you too. Because

you're going to be handling the > material in greater quantity, your exposure

is going to be greater.

is making a *very* important point here.....

When I saw the thread on tincturing calamus, I thought " WHAT!!!!??? "

AT.... Lawless' " The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils " ,

Sylla's " Aromatherapy Practioner's Manual " , Watts' " Plant

Aromatics " ...taught/warned me a long time ago about the asarone....which

is present, generally speaking, in the oil...

I know it seems sometimes as though *everything* is dangerous in some

fashion or another......but you always have to keep in mind that you're

dealing with concentrated essences in many cases.....

Or, as points out, differences in chemical profiles that can

happen due to the method of extraction....an infusion will be different

from a tincture will be different from a distillation and an absolute

may be different again...

One might find oneself walking the Way of the Venefice unknowingly...

Can never hurt to do the extra homework......

--

W. Bourbonais

L'Hermite Aromatique

BTW....Sylla's AT Practioner Manual and Mr. Watts' Plant Aromatics are

excellent and detailed sources for all kinds of info on EO and

Absolute.....I think Butch is selling both on his website.....

I do not have 's book... " Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Helath

Professionals "

It's available from Amazon...And I have only ever heard good things

about it.....

The Lawless book, which is more almost a coffee table thing for

EO.....still has important toxicity info on a fair selection of

EO.....In fact, I often refer to it first, for a Q & D indication....

Nice pictures, too....there's been reportedly errors...I did find one

incorrect picture myself.....It might be closer to what's known as an

" AT novel " ....but as I said.....it has a lot of good info in it,

also....

Can be had used off of Amazon for under $10.....In hardcover, yet...

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On 19/11/06, Tisserand <tisserand@...> wrote:

> From reading several recent posts it occurs to me that some group members may

not be

> familiar with the risks posed by some plants, and there are no safety

guidelines in

> perfumery that apply specifically to tinctures (though there may be some in

herbal

> medicine). Just as there are risks attached to some essential oils, tinctures

are not all

> totally safe either.

Thank you for posting this . :-)

Is it OK for me to put it into a word document and add it to the files, please?

Thanks

LLx

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snipped to correct topposting and quote:

--- Tisserand <tisserand@...> wrote:

> I wish these dangers did not exist, but they do, so

> if you're tincturing something that

> you're not sure about, do some research on the

> safety profile of the plant, or check with

> the group, and stay safe. This isn't just about the

> people who are going to use your

> products, it's about you too. Because you're going

> to be handling the material in greater

> quantity, your exposure is going to be greater.

>

> Tisserand

Right, let's not forget that arsenic, mercury, and

strycnine are naturally occuring substances.

One of the big commercial perfume houses has just

released a fragrance base on cannibus and wormwood.

Nice high :-) Won't take long for someone to try and

smoke it!

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> > From reading several recent posts it occurs to me that some group members

may not

be

> > familiar with the risks posed by some plants, and there are no safety

guidelines in

> > perfumery that apply specifically to tinctures (though there may be some in

herbal

> > medicine). Just as there are risks attached to some essential oils,

tinctures are not all

> > totally safe either.

>

> Thank you for posting this . :-)

> Is it OK for me to put it into a word document and add it to the files,

please?

> Thanks

> LLx

>

Yes, certainly.

R.

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<snipped>

is making a *very* important point here....

I do not have 's book... " Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Helath

Professionals "

It's available from Amazon...And I have only ever heard good things

About it.....

Book Essential oil Safety .

It is a lot moor than Just a book for heath care professionals.

I do have this book.

This book has served me well in fact I can go as far to say book wise it

was the best money I ever spent!

It has been my companion from doing Massage in the Hospis to making

cosmetics, What ever field of Aromatherapy you are in their will be

something relevant in this book, that you would not find in another book on

Aromatherapy, My Friend A Mid wife in The Countess of Chester Hospital in

Chester, Would not be without it in her work there is a quite fasanating

paragraph on how essential oils can enter A Fetus via the omblical cord &

actualy increace in streanth, These are just bits I rember of the Top of my

head, As I have my copy in my work place.

If you are a therapist Perfumer or merely adore Essential oils, This is a

book you will grow found of like like those slippers that the more you were

them the more comfortable thy become.

Put it on your Christmas Wish List.

Love & Light Gill.

I

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When first contacted me about his concerns re: the tincturing

yesterday, I told him I'd post this to an herb list I'm on. There

were some posting problems there, and it didn't show up until this

morning. The first reply is in, from a very respected herbalist:

> An aromatherapist

> on the group raised the question of possible problems with some of

> the plant materials, (he wrote:) such as carcinogens (asarone)(Acorus

> calamus), neurotoxins (Artemisia annua), or phototoxins (

> archangelica).

I can't imagine that using these tinctures for fragrace sould be an

issue. Considering that they can all be used internally in moderation

should be indicative that they would likely be safe being used

externally (I assume that would be for fragrance use).

On the note of Calamus, there has never been any evidence linking

Calamus itself to a carcinogenic effect. All of the studies that led

to this assumption were done using the extracted asarones, not the

actual plant. Much the same as was done with sassafras, really,

another plant claimed to be carcinogenic that I think completely

undeserving of that stigma.

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://anyasgarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://artisannaturalperfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Chat Group

/

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> When first contacted me about his concerns re: the tincturing

> yesterday, I told him I'd post this to an herb list I'm on. There

> were some posting problems there, and it didn't show up until this

> morning. The first reply is in, from a very respected herbalist:

>

> > An aromatherapist

> > on the group raised the question of possible problems with some of

> > the plant materials, (he wrote:) such as carcinogens (asarone)(Acorus

> > calamus), neurotoxins (Artemisia annua), or phototoxins (

> > archangelica).

>

Anya, I did write this, but I later withdrew my comment about Artemisia annua -

it's not

neurotoxic.

> I can't imagine that using these tinctures for fragrace sould be an

> issue. Considering that they can all be used internally in moderation

> should be indicative that they would likely be safe being used

> externally (I assume that would be for fragrance use).

>

There is a well-documented and palpable risk to humans from external application

of

psoralen-containing essential oils. Whether tinctures from the same plants would

contain

a sufficient concentration of psoralens to cause problems I don't know, but I

think we

should try to find out. I found one paper about tincture of rue demonstrating

photomutagenic properties in vitro, mainly due to its bergapten content, so

clearly there is

some potential risk from tinctures.

> On the note of Calamus, there has never been any evidence linking

> Calamus itself to a carcinogenic effect. All of the studies that led

> to this assumption were done using the extracted asarones, not the

> actual plant. Much the same as was done with sassafras, really,

> another plant claimed to be carcinogenic that I think completely

> undeserving of that stigma.

> >

> Anya McCoy

OK, I was just raising some red flags where I though appropriate. It sounds as

if there is

no information either way on whether calamus or sassafras tinctures are likely

to be

carcinogenic. However, both calamus and sassafras essential oils have produced

cancers in

rodents, not just asarone and safrole. Safrole has also been associated with

cancers in

humans in SE Asia, where 600 million people chew " pan " made with betel leaves,

which

naturally contain safrole, and safrole-DNA adducts have been found in the blood

of 94% of

pan-chewing Taiwanese. In Assam, India, the risk of oesophageal cancer from pan

chewing is greater than that from tobacco smoking. Sassafras essential oils

contain 62

-93% safrole.

When trying to predict risk, there are many factors to take into account, such

as exposure

levels, whether rats and humans metabolize the chemicals in the same way, and

whether

other constituents in the plant or essential oil may counteract the carcinogenic

action.

On the current evidence I think there is no doubt that sassafras is a risk to

the general

population. Individual susceptibility is another issue, and is largely

determined by

genetics. With calamus, I think the obvious route would be to use the type that

contains no

asarone - if it is available. It should be, as I think it's native to the US. It

is possible that

asarone-containing calamus also contains some anticarcinogenic compounds that

would

be extracted by an alcoholic tincture, and that these may counteract the action

of the

asarone (relative quantities are often important) but I would rather know that

than gamble

on it.

Tisserand

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From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Tisserand

Sent: Sunday, November 19, 2006 10:10 AM

Subject: Safety of tinctures

<snipped for brevity>

Alcohol will extract chemicals from a plant that are not found in the

equivalent essential

oil or absolute, such as alkaloids, and so a tincture may present risks that

the equivalent

essential oil would not.

I wish these dangers did not exist, but they do, so if you're tincturing

something that

you're not sure about, do some research on the safety profile of the plant,

or check with

the group, and stay safe. This isn't just about the people who are going to

use your

products, it's about you too. Because you're going to be handling the

material in greater

quantity, your exposure is going to be greater.

Tisserand

Hello , , Liz,

There have been reports that the N. American sweet flag (Acorus calamus var.

americanus Raf. Wulff) is the diploid form and no b-asarone is found,

however, I would agree with and to be hesitant unless I knew for

sure. Here in the U.S. your County Extension Service could be of help to

you in identifying specific botanical if you are wildcrafting or where to

purchase the correct plants from a nursery. The following paper from 2003

does recommend reducing levels in herbal medicines and seeking to use the

diploid form. In some species there is more b-asarone in the leaves than in

the root. This paper also makes reference to b-asarone also being present

in carrot seed, certain species of helichrysum and other peppers. While I

am certainly not meaning to diminish the possibility of risk, the conclusion

of this paper allows continued limited exposure use in herbal formulas until

a full risk benefit has been carried out. http://tinyurl.com/y38hdu

With regard to alcohol extractions being perhaps more of a risk than the

essential oil, I think this is a highly debatable statement. Converse to

's statement that there is greater risk, the alcohol tincturing

process could also present the tempering factors of other desired

constituents that buffer or ameliorate the adverse. Herbalists have long

argued that isolating a single active ingredient creates difficulties and

that the whole or partially purified extract offers advantages over a single

isolated ingredient. Synergistic interactions are of vital importance in

phytomedicines and explain the efficacy of apparently low doses of active

constituents in a herbal product. This concept indeed underpins the

philosophy of herbal medicine. Aromatherapy talks about the effects of

'synergy'; however, I think little has been written about what is left

behind when extracting an essential oil and how this compares to the concept

of whole plant 'synergy' in phytomedicines.

Evidence to support the occurrence of synergy within phytomedicines is

accumulating and is reviewed in several peer review journals, including

'Phytomedicine', specifically volume 8, no. 5, October 2001 by E. M.

on, among others. Extracting only the essential oil from a plant

does leave behind certain water or alcohol soluble constituents that may

create a synergistic combination that is less harmful than in other forms of

plant extracts, i.e., essential oil. Indigenous uses of plants are usually

performed by water extraction or tisanes, which admittedly are the gentlest

of all extractions. However, decades of folkloric and ethnobotany study

show effective medicinal use for some plants that we westerners might shy

away from as we continue to develop and use stronger chemical isolate

extractions from those plants.

Again, I am not at all intending to diminish the cautions presented by

and , quite the contrary, only introducing expanded food for

thought. Perhaps the natural perfumer needs to study Phytomedicine in order

to assure safety, especially if they're going to stray into preparing their

own plant extracts or use extractives not already common to the industry and

IFRA. And, I also offer a reminder for those of us who supply aromatic

ingredients to tighten up information provided to our customers so that more

informed decisions can be made and precautions taken. We also have been

discussing a number of ingredients that could carry bacteria or other

harmful pathogens (Hyrax, " Goat-poo " ). We very well could be presenting the

potential harmful exposure with any new suggestion or discussion . . .

Be well,

Marcia Elston, Samara Botane http://www.wingedseed.com

" When the power of love becomes stronger than the love of power, we will

have peace. "

Jimi Hendrix

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> Hello , , Liz,

>

> The following paper from 2003

> allows continued limited exposure use in herbal formulas until

> a full risk benefit has been carried out. http://tinyurl.com/y38hdu

>

IFRA also allows limited continued exposure in fragrances of total asarones, of

0.01%. This

is equivalent to about 0.004% of asarone-rich calamus oil in a fragrance. I'm

sure a

tincture will contain less asarone than an essential oil, so the equivalent

level will be

higher. Unfortunately, calamus oil also contains up to 2% of methyleugenol,

another

carcinogen, which reduces its safe use level to very tiny amounts.

> With regard to alcohol extractions being perhaps more of a risk than the

> essential oil, I think this is a highly debatable statement. Converse to

> 's statement that there is greater risk, the alcohol tincturing

> process could also present the tempering factors of other desired

> constituents that buffer or ameliorate the adverse.

I agree, and said that this was a possibility for calamus, and it is a

possibility, but I don't

think it's prudent to make the assumption. A tincture will contain many other

constituents,

and their action cannot be discounted, but they are not always ameliorative.

Unfortunately

herbal preparations are sometimes unsafe, even though synergistic and

antagonistic

effects do of course play a significant role in the final effect on the body.

>

> Again, I am not at all intending to diminish the cautions presented by

> and , quite the contrary, only introducing expanded food for

> thought. Perhaps the natural perfumer needs to study Phytomedicine in order

> to assure safety, especially if they're going to stray into preparing their

> own plant extracts or use extractives not already common to the industry and

> IFRA. And, I also offer a reminder for those of us who supply aromatic

> ingredients to tighten up information provided to our customers so that more

> informed decisions can be made and precautions taken. We also have been

> discussing a number of ingredients that could carry bacteria or other

> harmful pathogens (Hyrax, " Goat-poo " ). We very well could be presenting the

> potential harmful exposure with any new suggestion or discussion . . .

>

> Be well,

> Marcia Elston, Samara Botane http://www.wingedseed.com

I have studied a number of herbal texts from previous centuries, and in this

context it is

always very sad to have to acknowledge some newly found risk, especially when

this

effectively removes the plant (or essential oil) from any reasonable use.

However, we live in

a time when there are so many " background " risks, whether from petroleum,

dioxins,

phthalates, toxins in paints, cigarette smoke etc. etc., that carcinogens in

plants may have

a greater negative impact on our health than in times past.

Tisserand

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> With regard to alcohol extractions being perhaps more of a risk than the

> essential oil, I think this is a highly debatable statement. Converse to

> 's statement that there is greater risk, the alcohol tincturing

> process could also present the tempering factors of other desired

> constituents that buffer or ameliorate the adverse.

I know that tea absolutes are not considered safe by the IFRA. In fact I think

they are prohibited. Does this mean that a black or green tea tincture would

probably be unsafe as well? I've been thinking that a tincture would probably

be truer to the scent of tea than the absolute and I had assumed it would be

safer.

_._,___

---------------------------------

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> > With regard to alcohol extractions being perhaps more of a risk than the

> > essential oil, I think this is a highly debatable statement. Converse to

> > 's statement that there is greater risk, the alcohol tincturing

> > process could also present the tempering factors of other desired

> > constituents that buffer or ameliorate the adverse.

>

> I know that tea absolutes are not considered safe by the IFRA. In fact I

think they are

prohibited. Does this mean that a black or green tea tincture would probably be

unsafe as

well? I've been thinking that a tincture would probably be truer to the scent

of tea than

the absolute and I had assumed it would be safer.

>

>

>

Tea absolutes have not been considered safe by IFRA because of skin

sensitization,

although the latest IFRA guidelines (not yet on their website) do allow small

amounts of

tea absolute. I don't think anyone knows what, in tea absolute, causes the

problem, but it's

obvious that aqueous solutions of teas are safe, since millions of people drink

them every

day with no problems.

Green tea tinctures are also quite widely used, and as far as I know cause no

problems

when ingested.

My guess would be that green or black tea tinctures are safe to use on the skin.

T.

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Tisserand <tisserand@...> wrote:

>

Tea absolutes have not been considered safe by IFRA because of skin

sensitization,

although the latest IFRA guidelines (not yet on their website) do allow small

amounts of

tea absolute. I don't think anyone knows what, in tea absolute, causes the

problem, but it's

obvious that aqueous solutions of teas are safe, since millions of people drink

them every

day with no problems.

Green tea tinctures are also quite widely used, and as far as I know cause no

problems

when ingested.

My guess would be that green or black tea tinctures are safe to use on the

skin.

Thanks so much ,

Mmmmm, I'm drinking an aqueous solution of tea at this very moment (with

bergamot) and it is very tasty. I'm wondering if caffeine is absorbed through

the skin and if the absolutes of teas and coffee contain significant caffeine?

And since I'm on the subject, can anyone tell me what coffee flower absolute is

like?

---------------------------------

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--- Tisserand <tisserand@...> wrote:

> > Hello , , Liz,

> >

> > The following paper from 2003 allows continued

limited exposure use in herbal formulas until full

risk benefit has been carried out.

> http://tinyurl.com/y38hdu IFRA also allows limited

continued exposure in fragrances of total asarones, of

0.01%. > higher. Unfortunately, calamus oil also

contains up to 2% of methyleugenol, another

carcinogen, With regard to alcohol extractions being

perhaps

> more of a risk than the essential oil, I think this

is a highly debatable statement. Converse to 's

statement that there is greater risk, the alcohol

tincturing process could also present the tempering

factors of other desired constituents that buffer or

ameliorate the

study Phytomedicine in order to assure safety,

Marcia Elston,

Also this brings up a question I don't understand

about Chinese medicine. An Acupuncturist friend of

mine said that after they (Chinese Doctors/or

pharmacists) made the cures they would put one little

bit of poisen in the formula. Does this remind you of

innoculations and homeopathy? You would seemingly

have to study the risk that implies and make sure that

the patient was only exposed to a low dose. Then we

are not medical doctors who in this century seem to be

a bit petroleum based.

Can anyone respond to this train of thought?

perhaps and others working from the curing zone.

Thanks for your accessability

BB

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

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I know that tea absolutes are not considered safe by the IFRA. In fact I think

they are prohibited. Does this mean that a black or green tea tincture would

probably be unsafe as well? I've been thinking that a tincture would probably be

truer to the scent of tea than the absolute and I had assumed it would be safer.

How does Bulgari (Ibelieve) get away with it? I think they have a perfume

called Green Tea

Janita

Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.

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I know that tea absolutes are not considered safe by the IFRA. >>>>>>>>>

How does Bulgari (Ibelieve) get away with it? I think they have a perfume

called Green Tea >>>>>>>>>>>>

Janita

Thank you you answered my question.... much obliged Janita

---------------------------------

Try the all-new . " The New Version is radically easier to use " –

The Wall Street Journal

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At 11:01 AM 11/21/2006, you wrote:

>

>

>I know that tea absolutes are not considered safe by the IFRA. In

>fact I think they are prohibited. Does this mean that a black or

>green tea tincture would probably be unsafe as well? I've been

>thinking that a tincture would probably be truer to the scent of tea

>than the absolute and I had assumed it would be safer.

>

>

>

>

>

> How does Bulgari (Ibelieve) get away with it? I think they have

> a perfume called Green Tea

>

> Janita

I'll bet they use a synthetic tea fragrance. I believe the USA

drugstore scent Healing Gardens Tea (something or other) is synth.

Smells very synth. Ah-choo!

Anya McCoy

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://anyasgarden.com

Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild http://artisannaturalperfumers.org

Natural Perfumers Chat Group

/

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  • 11 months later...

> Other plants present other risks, such as the roots of

archangelica, which contain

> phototoxic psoralens (furocoumarins). This means there is a risk of

skin discoloration or

> burning if the tincture is used on the skin in sunlight.

For what it's worth, I'll present that my fair skin (which usually

burns quite easily) has not burned or otherwise reacted unpleasantly

to my tincture of angelica root. And when I first bottled it (before

learning of its potential phototoxicity), I wasn't careful with its

use. Also worth noting, it was one of my favorite fragrances.

That's not to say that one day I wouldn't react adversely to it or

that nobody else would. But I didn't; Nice! or Lucky.

~Jen in Texas

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  • 3 weeks later...

> How much did you tincture and for how long?

>

> I plan to give it a try.

>

> Angi

Hi, Angi.

23% by weight. Soaked for 3 months.

The Plum Flower brand (seems to be really high quality from what I've

read) roots I purchased are still extremely aromatic (and oh so much

more enticing than that " junk " I've smelled at health food

stores--they're NOTHING like that stuff! You all have GOT to smell

these!), even after straining. Maybe I shoulda kept the tincture

going for longer, but it was strong at three months.

Also, there's a crystalline something all over the leftover roots that

formed during the tincturing. I'm curious.

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> How much did you tincture and for how long?

>

> I plan to give it a try.

>

> Angi

Hi, Angi.

23% by weight. Soaked for 3 months.

The Plum Flower brand (seems to be really high quality from what I've

read) roots I purchased are still extremely aromatic (and oh so much

more enticing than that " junk " I've smelled at health food

stores--they're NOTHING like that stuff! You all have GOT to smell

these!), even after straining. Maybe I shoulda kept the tincture

going for longer, but it was strong at three months.

Also, there's a crystalline something all over the leftover roots that

formed during the tincturing. I'm curious.

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> > How much did you tincture and for how long?

> > I plan to give it a try.

> > Angi

-------------------------------------------

> Hi, Angi.

> 23% by weight. Soaked for 3 months. The Plum Flower brand (seems to >

> be really high quality from what I've read) roots I purchased

> are still extremely aromatic (and oh so much

> more enticing than that " junk " I've smelled at health food

> stores--they're NOTHING like that stuff! You all have GOT to smell

> these!), even after straining. Maybe I shoulda kept the tincture

> going for longer, but it was strong at three months.

> Also, there's a crystalline something all over the leftover roots that

> formed during the tincturing. I'm curious.

------------------------------------------------

Hello-

Are you discussing angelica root tincture?

Thanks,

Autumn

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> > How much did you tincture and for how long?

> > I plan to give it a try.

> > Angi

-------------------------------------------

> Hi, Angi.

> 23% by weight. Soaked for 3 months. The Plum Flower brand (seems to >

> be really high quality from what I've read) roots I purchased

> are still extremely aromatic (and oh so much

> more enticing than that " junk " I've smelled at health food

> stores--they're NOTHING like that stuff! You all have GOT to smell

> these!), even after straining. Maybe I shoulda kept the tincture

> going for longer, but it was strong at three months.

> Also, there's a crystalline something all over the leftover roots that

> formed during the tincturing. I'm curious.

------------------------------------------------

Hello-

Are you discussing angelica root tincture?

Thanks,

Autumn

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