From personal discovery to clinical application: why the traditional extraction methods just aren’t cutting it
Almost 35 years ago, when I first stumbled upon wild lettuce (Lactuca serriola mostly at that time) growing abundantly around me everywhere in Colorado, I had no idea it would become one of my most valued therapeutic allies one day in the distant future. What started as curiosity about this towering, spiny plant with its distinctive milky sap has evolved into decades of experimentation, personal use, and clinical application that has fundamentally changed how I approach certain health challenges.
The plant itself is remarkable—growing up to six feet tall with deeply serrated leaves and clusters of small yellow flowers. But it’s that milky white latex-ey sap (not actual latex) that oozes from cuts in the stem and leaves that holds the real treasure: lactucarium. Often called “lettuce opium” due to its sedative and analgesic properties, this remarkable substance has been used medicinally since ancient times, with more recent written historical references dating back to the early 19th century.
The Traditional Problem: Why Standard Extractions Fall Short
In my experience, here’s where a lot of herbalists and even commercial producers get it wrong. The traditional approaches to extracting wild lettuce—simple alcohol tinctures or water decoctions—are leaving potency on the table. I’ve spent countless hours experimenting with different methods, and I can tell you with certainty that these conventional approaches simply don’t capture the full therapeutic potential of this plant.
The historical literature tells us that lactucarium contains both water-soluble and alcohol-soluble constituents, including lactucin, lactucopicrin, lactucic acid, along with substantial amounts of lactucerin and volatile oils. The problem with single-solvent extractions is that you’re only capturing part of the picture. Water-only decoctions miss the alcohol-soluble compounds entirely, while straight alcohol tinctures don’t efficiently extract the water-soluble actives.
After years of testing different ratios and methods, I’ve found that the sweet spot is a 40-50% alcohol concentration combined with controlled heat application. This isn’t just theoretical—I, along with 100’s of students and clients, can taste and feel the therapeutic difference. When I compare extractions made with my method versus traditional single-solvent approaches, the difference in bitterness (a key indicator of active compound concentration) is striking. The traditional methods for me have always produced mild extracts. The lactucarium method I have ended up at after years of extracting and testing, produces something more bitter and even acrid —which might not win any taste tests (for some – I happen to like the taste), but it certainly delivers results.
My Personal Discovery: Long COVID, ADHD, and an Unexpected Solution
In the fall of 2022, I came down with a case of COVID that changed everything for me. This COVID illness was the sickest I have ever been in my life. I went through the first night, at high altitude, literally having to consciously force myself to breathe in order to be able to make it through the night before being able to get some herbs the next day (we were living in an RV waiting to close on our new property in Taos, NM) that I could use in a steam inhalation, which immediately started to help. However, like many people, I developed long COVID after this that persisted for months.
Starting a few months after this illness, I found myself encountering psychological disruptions I had never before faced in my life. Most notable was severe depression. What brought me out of the depression is another blog post for the near future about another medicinal herb, but as I finally got through the depression, I found a significant worsening of ADHD symptoms.
To be honest, I’ve probably always had ADHD but never even thought about it. But suddenly I realized that this ADHD was severely impacting everything I was doing in my day-to-day routine. It was not that I was just noticing it more. It was bad and I had to face it. Along with this, a noticable brain fog, inability to focus, and general cognitive cloudiness had started cloouding every aspect of my life and work.
Now as context, I’d been making lactucarium for clients for years who were dealing with anxiety, sleep and even minor pain issues, but I hadn’t considered it for my own cognitive symptoms. In fact, one of the herbs that had always helped me focus very well up to this point was American Ginseng (which again, I have a very particular medicine making technique for this to be effective that I will talk about in a future blog post). However, during a particularly frustrating week, I decided to experiment on myself with the Lactucarium. I took about half a gram of my own concentrated lactucarium extract sublingually—holding it under my tongue for several minutes before it dissolved completely.
The effect was unmistakable. Within about twenty minutes, the mental static that had been my constant companion for months began to quiet. My thoughts felt clearer, more organized. I wasn’t sedated or foggy—quite the opposite. I felt present and focused in a way I hadn’t experienced since before my COVID infection.
This wasn’t a placebo effect or wishful thinking. I’m very skeptical about every herb and every herbal formula I take. Not because I don’t know and love how they work, but because I don’t believe in wishful thinking as a healing process. For me to use an botanical medine in our clinic, or sell it in our store, or teach it in our school I need to be confident in its efficacy for whatever specific syndrome it is being used for. I believe here also, that the sublingual administration is key—bypassing first-pass metabolism and allowing for more rapid and complete absorption.
The Sublingual Advantage: Why Under the Tongue Works Better
The sublingual route of administration has been recognized for years in acute medical situations, like nitroglycerin administration, because it avoids first-pass metabolism and allows for fast entry into systemic circulation. This principle applies beautifully to lactucarium.
When you take something orally, it has to survive stomach acid, get absorbed in the intestines, and then pass through the liver before reaching systemic circulation. This process, called first-pass metabolism, can significantly reduce the bioavailability of many compounds. Sublingual administration of lactucarium bypasses this entirely—the rich blood supply under the tongue allows for direct absorption into the bloodstream.
In my experience, the sublingual route makes lactucarium significantly more effective. I typically recommend holding the extract under the tongue for 3-5 minutes before swallowing. Yes, it can be bitter and slightly acrid (for many folks) but the therapeutic benefits make it worthwhile. At my store, we sell our “Intergalactucarium” by the gram because such small amounts are needed when properly extracted and administered. For adults, I recommend 1/5 to 1/2 gram per dosage. Start low, as some people can be very affected by it and larger amounts can make them “loopy.” As a note, I find that about 1/5 gram to as much as 1/3 gram for me, will change my ADHD for 2-3 days. In fact, I find it seems to improve my cognition even more, a day or two later than it was the first day. It seems to peak after about 3 days. As a reference, I am 200 lbs. (see note on weight loss at the bottom of this blog) and 6′ tall. I am also highly sensitive to most herbs though. About 0.15 gram is my “normal” dose although I have taken up to twice that much. But “less is sometimes more” for me in this particular case, so I would recommend starting very low – even 1/10th of a gram the first time and just seeing how you do with it.
Clinical Applications: What I’ve Seen in Practice
Over the past several years, I’ve worked with dozens of clients using lactucarium for various conditions. The results have been consistently impressive, particularly for:
ADHD and Focus Issues: This was my biggest surprise. While lactucarium is traditionally known as a sedative, when used in appropriate doses sublingually, it seems to have a calming effect on mental chatter without causing drowsiness. Clients report improved focus, reduced racing thoughts, and better emotional regulation.
Anxiety and Irritability: This is where lactucarium truly shines. The active compounds lactucin and lactucopicrin act on the central nervous system to produce calming and anxiety-reducing effects. I’ve seen remarkable improvements in clients dealing with chronic anxiety, particularly when combined with complementary herbs.
Minor Pain Management: While not as potent as pharmaceutical and many other herbal options, lactucarium can be genuinely helpful for minor aches, tension headaches, and general discomfort, especially when used as part of a broader herbal protocol.
Addiction Recovery Support: This has been one of the most rewarding applications. The combination of lactucarium’s calming effects with its ability to improve sleep and reduce anxiety makes it valuable for people in early recovery, helping manage some of the emotional and physical discomfort that can trigger relapse.
The Herbal Synergy: My Favorite Combinations
While lactucarium is effective on its own, I’ve found that certain herbal combinations significantly enhance its benefits:
For ADHD and Cognitive Support: I typically combine lactucarium with American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), and Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus). The ginsengs provide adaptogenic support and mental clarity, while skullcap adds additional nervous system calming without sedation. This combination seems to address both the hyperactivity and attention deficit aspects of ADHD.
For Anxiety: Lactucarium pairs beautifully with lemon balm, wood betony (Stachys off.), passionflower, and chamomile for a more comprehensive anxiolytic effect.
For Pain: Combining lactucarium with aspen bark, yellow jessamine (dropwise only!), and corydalis can create a synergistic pain-relieving blend that’s often more effective than any single herb alone.
The Science Behind the Plant
Modern analysis has identified several key compounds in lactucarium, including lactucin (which acts as an adenosine receptor agonist) and lactucopicrin (which functions as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor). These mechanisms help explain the plant’s diverse therapeutic effects on the nervous system.
The main active compounds are guaian-type sesquiterpene lactones, which belong to a class of beneficial substances most concentrated in plants of the Asteraceae family. Interestingly, these same compounds have been found in other members of this plant family, suggesting that the therapeutic principles we see in wild lettuce may be part of a broader pattern in nature.
Making Your Own: The Method That Works
If you’re interested in making your own high-quality lactucarium extract, here’s the method I’ve refined over years of experimentation:
Materials Needed:
- Fresh or dried wild lettuce **NOTE – DRIED gives a higher yield than FRESH and Lactuca virosa give a higher yield than serriola.**
- 40-50% alcohol (vodka works well)
- Water
- Heat source with temperature control – preferably non-flame (i.e. electric or ideally, an induction cooktop)
- Straining materials
The Process:
- Initial Alcohol Extraction: Start with either fresh or dried plant material. Cover completely with a 40-50% alcohol solution and let macerate for 4-24 hours, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can put this into a cannabis infuser for about 4 hours at 130 deg. F.
- Decoct: Add enough 40-50% alcohol to roughly double the volume. Apply simmer-level heat (180°F/82°C) for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally and keeping covered between stirrings. Continue this until the herb volume is as much as the fluid volume in the pan. In other words, you should be able to see lots of herb at the top when you look down into the pan, and see that the alcohol/water is not covering it any more.
- Strain and Concentrate: Strain out all plant material, pressing to extract every bit of liquid. This is now what you need to boil down into the final lactucarium. There’s a technique to this, which requires using a silicone spatula to continually keep the concentration lactucarium from sticking to the sides of the pan as it gets down to the last several tablespoons of liquid. I pour in alcohol to get anything that is stuck on the sides as this happens. Once it is starting to look like bubbling tar, you can pull it out and put it on a drying sheet. I prefer to use glass pyrex. It can be left out to dry at room temperature, put into a food dryer or baked in the over or even put out into the sun. The better you get at the technique of getting everything out of the pan while it is in the “taffy-like” state, the less you will need to do a final drying.
- Final Product: You should end up with an intensely bitter, dark brown extract that’s indefinitely shelf-stable due to the lack of any water. Just store in a closed, airtight container.
- Reconstitution: **NOTE – I got so many questions about this that I am adding in this information after the initial release of the blog yesterday:
YES – you can absolutely reconstitute lactucarium back into a tincture if you prefer, and it is very easy. It requires knowing how much herb you started with and how much you end up with. Normally, my extractions are around a 15:1 or so concentration (i.e. If I start with 150 grams of herb I end up with 10 grams of final product). Let’s say for easy math you start with 100 grams of herb and end up with 10 grams of final product. That’s a 10:1 concentration and means that every gram of your lactucarium would be the same as having 10 grams of the initial dried herb.
Take that gram of lactucarium and mix it with 40% alcohol. Shake or agitate it for a few minutes and it will fully dissolve giving you a tincture. Now – if you wanted a 1:3 final tincture ratio, then you would mix 30 ml (1 fl. ounce) of 40% alcohol (e.g., vodka) back in with that single gram of lactucarium, because remember, that 1 gram of lactucarium is a concentrated form of 10 grams of dried herb.
Safety and Considerations
While lactucarium has an excellent safety profile when used appropriately, it’s important to approach it with respect. Wild lettuce is generally safe in small amounts, but very large quantities or improperly harvested material can cause adverse effects including sweating, fast heartbeat, and dizziness. Usually people feel almost giddy or “drunk” before anyof the adverse effects show up, so dose it carefully, starting with the low end of the dosage mentioned above. It is very safe for an adult to start with 1/4 (or as little as 1/10th even) gram sublingually and wait least an hour before taking more. Everyone’s sensitivity is different, and it’s always better to start low and work up to an effective dose.
To err on the side of caution, pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid wild lettuce, and anyone with narrow-angle glaucoma or enlarged prostate should consult with a healthcare provider before use.
The Future of Plant Medicine
What excites me most about working with lactucarium is how it represents the potential for rediscovering and optimizing traditional plant medicines. Lactucarium was included in the 1898 United States Pharmacopoeia and 1911 British Pharmaceutical Codex for use as a sedative and mild hypnotic, but it fell out of favor as synthetic drugs became dominant. In Britain, it could be purchased at the equivalent of a CVS or Walgreens today.
The combination of traditional knowledge with modern understanding of bioavailability, compound interactions, and delivery systems opens up exciting possibilities. Lactucarium is just one example of how we can honor traditional plant use while optimizing it for contemporary needs.
Final Thoughts
My journey with lactucarium has been both deeply personal and professionally transformative. From my own experience with post-COVID ADHD symptoms to watching clients find relief from anxiety, sleep issues, and minor pain, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful this plant can be when properly prepared and administered.
The key lessons I’ve learned are simple but crucial: extraction method matters enormously, sublingual administration significantly improves bioavailability, and combining lactucarium with complementary herbs often enhances its effects. Most importantly, approaching plant medicine with both respect for tradition and openness to innovation can lead to remarkable therapeutic outcomes.
Whether you’re dealing with ADHD, anxiety, sleep issues, or simply curious about exploring the therapeutic potential of wild plants, lactucarium deserves serious consideration. Just remember to start small, pay attention to your body’s response, and don’t be afraid of that bitter taste—it’s usually a sign that you’re getting the good stuff.
*NOTE: I had a question related to the following topic also since putting out the blog so I am going to add it in after the initial release of this blog… hesitantly:
Lactucarium has helped me lose weight. Not that I was horribly overweight, but I have lost about 20 pounds that needed to come off.
However, I am NOT saying it is a weight-loss herb – and news flash – there is no such thing as a “weight loss herb.” (at least certainly not the way it is sold in scammy buzzword marketing products – but I’m also not saying that herbs can’t help with individual issues that can lead to or exacerbate weight gain)
However, everyone is different, and in my personal case, I have now realized that a lot of my eating – especially since long COVID – was clearly comfort eating. I simply don’t have those cravings when I take lactucarium. I don’t need to eat sugar, and I don’t need to eat from the feeling of stress. So it’s a secondary effect per se… but I also feel like it takes away my sweet tooth. So that has been a nice side benefit from me that may help other folks, but please note that it’s only my personal, anecdotal experience at this point.
For those interested in trying high-quality lactucarium extract, you can find our Intergalactucarium at Herbal First Aid Gear. Remember, this information is for educational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare provider before using any new herbal preparation, especially if you have existing health conditions or take medications.