Claims
- 1. A cellulose derivative capsule having encapsulated therein an herb extract having a moisture content of less than 10 percent by weight, wherein the herb extract is provided by extracting an herbal plant material with an aqueous alcohol to provide an aqueous alcoholic herbal extract, adding sufficient glycerin to the aqueous alcohol herbal extract to maintain the herbal extract in solution or dispersed in the alcohol mixture, and removing alcohol and water from the aqueous alcoholic herbal extract to maintain the herbal extract in solution or dispersed in the glycerin base liquid.
- 2. The cellulose derivative capsule of claim 1 wherein the herbal plant material is selected from the group consisting of kava kava, echinacea, St. John's wort, valerian root, milk thistle seed, Siberian ginseng, nettle leaf, ginkgo, gotu kola, astragalus, goldenseal, dong quai, ginseng, bilberry, green tea, hawthorne, ginger, turmeric, black cohosh, cats claw, chamomile, dandelion, chaste tree berry, feverfew, garlic, horse chestnut, licorice, eyebright, yohimbe, and valerian poppy.
- 3. The cellulose derivative capsule of claim 2 wherein the moisture content of the herbal extract is less than 5 percent by weight.
- 4. A hydroxyalkylcellulose capsule having encapsulated therein an herb extract having a moisture content of less than 10 percent by weight, wherein the herb extract is provided by extracting an herbal plant material with an aqueous alcohol to provide an aqueous alcoholic herbal extract; adding sufficient glycerin to the aqueous alcohol herbal extract to maintain the herbal extract in solution or dispersed in the alcohol mixture; and removing alcohol and water from the aqueous alcoholic herbal extract to maintain the herbal extract in solution or dispersed in the glycerin base liquid.
- 5. The hydroxyalkylcellulose capsule of claim 4 wherein the herbal plant material is selected from the group consisting of kava kava, echinacea, St. John's wort, valerian root, milk thistle seed, Siberian ginseng, nettle leaf, ginkgo, gotu kola, astragalus, goldenseal, dong quai, ginseng, bilberry, green tea, hawthorne, ginger, turmeric, black cohosh, cats claw, chamomile, dandelion, chaste tree berry, feverfew, garlic, horse chestnut, licorice, eyebright, yohimbe, and valerian poppy.
- 6. The hydroxylalkylcellulose capsule of claim 5 wherein the moisture content of the herbal extract is less than 5 percent by weight.
- 7. The hydroxylalkylcellulose capsule of claim 4 wherein the hydroxylalkylcellulose is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The instant application is a divisional application of Ser. No. 09/478,880 filed Jan. 7, 2000 and allowed as U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,696, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
US Referenced Citations (23)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
9000854 |
Feb 1990 |
KR |
WO 9827151 |
Aug 1998 |
WO |