What is an Enolito
Enolito is synonymous with medicated wine, medicinal wine or vinous tincture . We are talking about a pharmaceutical preparation in which the drugs, or their active ingredients, are left to soak in the wine or solubilized in it; a water-alcohol solution is thus obtained with potential therapeutic applications.
Preparation
Enoliths can be prepared:
1. By extraction of plant drugs by maceration. The medicinal wines obtained are also called vinous tinctures. Dry drugs or fresh drugs can be used;
2. For dilution of an extract with wine. A fluid extract is usually used, easier to prepare and more consistent in composition. However, the decrease in the solubilization rate must be taken into consideration, passing from a fluid extract, obtained on the basis of an extraction with alcohol at 60-90 °, to that using a vinous solvent with an alcoholic strength of 15-16 °;
3. For direct solution of drugs or active ingredients in wine.
In enoliths, the drug / solvent ratio normally varies between 5 (5 grams of drug per 100 ml of wine) and 20%.
The maceration period is generally long, mostly ranging from 5 to 15 days.
Medicinal wines should be stored in cold and in dark glass bottles; they should therefore be consumed within a few weeks, to the extent of a small glass, two or three times a day. Because of their low shelf life, enolites have now fallen into disuse.
Red wines are used for drugs containing tannins, which are enhanced by those of red wine (astringent action); vice versa, white wine is used instead of red in all those cases in which the tannins would precipitate substances of medicinal interest; white wine is also traditionally indicated for diuretic preparations.
Fortified wines, such as marsala, are used to extract active ingredients from drugs containing large quantities of resins.
Known enoliti were: the wine of boldo, of cinchona, of cascara sagrada, of condurango and of rhubarb, moreover products still of a certain use in herbal medicine. Let's see an example of digestive enolita :
| "Fernet type" digestive medicinal wine (Handbag) | |
| China (cut bark) | 30 |
| Gentian (cut root) | 20 |
| Cinnamon (bark bruised) | 10 |
| Anise (ground fruits) | 10 |
| sugar | 50 |
| Vanilla | 5 |
| White wine | 1 litre |
| Enolito: macerate for 5.6 days and filter. Take a small glass of medicinal wine after the main meals. | |
