All of our products are gluten-free. The alcohol in our products is derived from either gluten-free, non-GMO corn or sugar cane, and is certified organic.


The number of drops in a bottle of liquid extract will vary depending on the viscosity (thickness) of the extract. For example, one ounce of Herb Pharm's Goldenseal liquid extract contains 1,243 drops, Echinacea liquid extract contains 1,184 drops, and Marshmallow liquid extract, which is very viscous, contains only 1,000 drops. In general, most extracts fall within the range of 1,000 to 1,300 drops per ounce. This is equivalent to 25-32 individual doses per bottle.

Unless otherwise noted, all doses are for adults, but Clark's Rule can be used to convert the adult dose to a child's dose. Some extracts are not suitable for children. Consult your doctor for advice.

Clark's Rule 
Divide the child's weight (in pounds) by 150 to get the fraction of the adult dose to give to the child.

Example: For a 50 pound child give 50/150 (or 1/3) of the adult dose. Therefore, if the adult dose is 30 drops taken 3 times per day, the child's dose will be 10 drops taken 3 times per day (not 30 drops taken 1 time per day). Some extracts are not suitable for children. Consult your doctor for advice.

You should always put liquid extracts into water or juice for consumption. Taking them straight from the dropper may cause a burning sensation in the mouth and is discouraged. Mix the prescribed number of extract drops into 1 to 2 ounces of water unless the label directs otherwise. You can also add the drops to warm tea (not piping hot) or juice. Certain herbs, because of their stronger action, require more water. For optimal results, sip the mixed drops so you can savor the extract's flavor and aroma. Although you may not always like the taste, it contributes part of the therapeutic effect of the herb. Always follow label instructions. Some products require more water or have other special instructions for use such as our Soothing Throat Spray.


All of Herb Pharm's products are specifically developed for human use. For high quality herbal pet supplements, we suggest Animal Essentials, and the Animals Apawthecary line of herbal tinctures they carry. Animal Essentials' products are formulated specifically for the health needs of pets and other animals. They can be found online by clicking here, or reached by phone at (888) 551-0416, M-F, 7:30am to 4:30pm, Mountain Time.

A small amount of the alcohol can be removed this way but most of it will stay intimately mixed with the hot water and will remain so even if the water is boiled. That's because alcohol and water are extremely difficult to separate once they have been mixed. While adding extracts to hot water will not eliminate their alcohol, it can, in some cases, actually damage the extract. Many extracts are heat stable (e.g., Goldenseal) and adding them to hot water does no harm. However, other extracts are damaged by heat (e.g., Valerian) and can be weakened by adding them to hot water. Also, essential oils found in certain extracts (e.g., Lemon Balm, Chamomile) will be at least partially vaporized by hot water. Here you are left with a compromised extract, but the alcohol remains. If an extract is directed to be taken hot to increase its diaphoretic (sweat-inducing) action, it should be added to hot water that is not too hot to drink.

In general, the shelf-life of Herb Pharm's products ranges between three and five years. The product's dosage form (alcohol-based tincture, glycerin-based tincture, capsule, etc.) impacts a product's shelf life. Alcohol-based tinctures normally have a five-year shelf, alcohol being an excellent natural preservative. Glycerin-based extracts and capsules typically have three-year shelf-lives.

The majority of our products are imprinted with a "Best By" or "Exp" (Expiration) date on the bottom of the retail package.

On two-ounce and larger bottles of our liquid herbal extracts, and on all liquid herbal extracts manufactured prior to April, 2013, a batch number and manufacturing date are printed on or near the bottom or side edge of the label or on the bottom of the bottle. The first six numerals represent the batch number. Following the batch number is a combination of four alpha-numeric characters. For example, after the 6-digit batch number you might see "4M02." These four characters represent the manufacturing date and are interpreted as follows: the first number "4" represents the year of manufacture (2014), the letter is for the day of the week it was manufactured (Sunday = N, Monday = M, Tuesday = U, Wednesday = W, Thursday = R, Friday = F, Saturday = A), and the last two numbers, "02", are the week of the year (02 is the 2nd week of the year).

For best results, store Herb Pharm products in a cool, dry place away from heat and light.

Most liquid herbal extracts contain constituents that tend to precipitate out of the solution (separate) if they are left sitting on a shelf or in a medicine cabinet without regular shaking. This is a normal occurrence and does not affect the quality or safety of the product. You may see this precipitation as little specks or flakes floating in your extract, a coating on your dropper, or as a tiny layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottle. This may appear to be a different color than the extract. This can happen in as quickly as a couple of weeks. Please make sure to shake the bottle vigorously before use to help these plant particles get reabsorbed into the extract solution.