HOXY Research

Alongside my fermentceutical work, I have been researching a product that represents a melding of my herbal and fermentation practices. Humans have been using vinegar as a solvent to extract the active compounds from plants since Hippocrates time (around 400 BC). An oxymel is a mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey and this, too, has an exceedingly long history of human use as a form of medicine. HOXY is the name I have given to my herbal oxymels.

As a herbalist, I normally make my herbal medicine extracts using alcohol as the solvent. I have been making my own apple cider vinegar for some time and I realised that I could, in some cases, effectively use apple cider vinegar as a solvent instead of alcohol. The appeal is multifaceted; some people do not consume alcohol, and we tend to avoid giving alcohol-based tinctures to young children.

In addition, apple cider vinegar and honey are household items for many of us. Reviving the practice of making oxymels enables many of us to make simple but effective herbal medicine without the need for vodka. I am all for fun, practical and effective ways of taking back responsibility for our own health.

I have spent some time developing a range of herbal oxymels using medicinal herbs, at the same time refining the optimal method by which to make them. I am now working with the University of Surrey using LC-MS and HPLC analysis to investigate the presence of key plant biochemicals in HOXYs, compared to the equivalent alcoholic extract. The results will clarify the extent to which the HOXY biochemical profile differs from that of the equivalent alcoholic extract.