I wasn't sure how to search this, but was wondering what the general consensus was on this for collecting actives.

So if one has done 3 acid solution cooks and collected the leftover MHRB material, is there any value in basifying this material which would otherwise be discarded?

TAFKAP was thinking it would be interesting to try, but would like to hear from veterans--is this just a waste of time?

Also: I thought I read somewhere about the distinction between wetting and then freezing MHRB to break open the cells and aid recovery of alkaloids. Someone posted, if I remember, that the cellular walls of root plants are too tough to broken up like this. However, wouldn't this still weaken the cells' integrity and make them more susceptible to an acid cook or STB extraction or FASA?

I mean, you can basify and try to pull it won't hurt anything. There may be some actives left but probably not many. You may pull a little bit however.



You can lyse the cell walls with multiple freeze/thaw cycles. It works best if the rootbark is soaking in water when frozen/thawed. This is less of an issue if you are working with pre-powdered bark.

Right, okay. Thanks.

This is sort of what I was thinking. It seems like such a simple step: freeze (even with powdered) while wet and it should theoretically make your yields better. Not sure by how much. It's interesting to add variations like this (adding sodium to your water, using phosphoric acid) to help release the alkaloids.

Right now, liking the A/B tek simply because it produces cleaner yields than STB. So will try another few attempts/tweaks.

Thanks!