Since ancient times, civilizations around the world have recognized useful characteristics of various flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots, and resins, and have incorporated them into medicinal, cosmetic, and culinary practices.
Extraction describes a process of liquid/solid separation. In a nutshell, that means adding a liquid to solid raw material, then separating the solids from the solution.
Over time, extraction methods have become more sophisticated, from soaking or fermenting plants in water to liquid CO2 extraction and beyond.
Interest in herbal and botanical products has increased in recent decades, as consumers’ interest in improving their health grows.
For products that consumers ingest, inhale, or apply to the skin, toll processors work to optimize processing methods to draw out more of the desired compounds while reducing or eliminating unwanted components.