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At least two thirds of domestic cats "enjoy" the effects of Nepeta, a.k.a. "catnip." But do they enjoy it enough? If humans were able to isolate the active ingredient in catnip, could we not use it to become omnipowerful CATGODS? Imagine the possibilities! What fool wouldn't want their own personal cat army? A massive fuzzy force with which to execute your every bidding? A united, unquestioning militia that requires nothing other than unfettered access to the super-powerful catnip products that give their adorable cuddly lives meaning?
Nepetalactone is the active ingredient in catnip.* Today we are going to isolate nepetalactone in its pure form through a steam distillation. The distilled liquid will be extracted with an organic solvent (toluene), refined, then evaporated to give the final product.
Now I know what you're thinking: is it safe for cats to be around such a concentrated extract of catnip? Hell yes! Within reason. And we're all reasonable people. Pure nepetalactone has been studied on cats extensively. In fact, "catnip oil" that is available from botanical stores is essentially just nepetalactone, and it is widely used in homeopathic medicine. More details later.
Nepetalactone is the active ingredient in catnip.* Today we are going to isolate nepetalactone in its pure form through a steam distillation. The distilled liquid will be extracted with an organic solvent (toluene), refined, then evaporated to give the final product.
Now I know what you're thinking: is it safe for cats to be around such a concentrated extract of catnip? Hell yes! Within reason. And we're all reasonable people. Pure nepetalactone has been studied on cats extensively. In fact, "catnip oil" that is available from botanical stores is essentially just nepetalactone, and it is widely used in homeopathic medicine. More details later.
- Note: pure nepetalactone will not enable you to create a cat army.
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Signing UpStep 1Crash course in steam distillation
If you've taken any chemistry laboratory classes, or if you have a background in moonshine production, then you know a thing or two about distillation. Heat something up to boiling, then collect the vapors by condensing them into another container. Steam distillation is the same principal and uses the same equipment. The only difference is that you distill something in the presence of water. Steam serves to volatilize certain chemicals, such that they co-boil with the water and can be collected along with the steam when it condenses.
This is particularly useful for extracting plant matter, where the steam serves double duty, breaking open cell walls and releasing volatile oils like nepetalactone. A standard apparatus that you would use in a chemistry lab is shown in the first picture below. Of course, we'll be doing this at home without access to fancy science gadgets.
For this catnip extraction, I've constructed a much simplified apparatus shown in the second picture. The catnip and water goes in the bottom of a big pot, with a cup placed on top. The lid is really the key component here; by simply turning the lid of the pot upside down, the vapors will condense and drip down from the center, collecting in the cup below. By filling the top of the lid with ice water, the vapors are condensed very efficiently.
This is particularly useful for extracting plant matter, where the steam serves double duty, breaking open cell walls and releasing volatile oils like nepetalactone. A standard apparatus that you would use in a chemistry lab is shown in the first picture below. Of course, we'll be doing this at home without access to fancy science gadgets.
For this catnip extraction, I've constructed a much simplified apparatus shown in the second picture. The catnip and water goes in the bottom of a big pot, with a cup placed on top. The lid is really the key component here; by simply turning the lid of the pot upside down, the vapors will condense and drip down from the center, collecting in the cup below. By filling the top of the lid with ice water, the vapors are condensed very efficiently.
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I highly appreciate how clear your instructions are; I would have expected instructions for a distillery to have possibly a few steps that left me guessing what I'm supposed to actually do. Other guides I'd read (not on this site,) about getting an extract had this tendency to assume, "Okay, now that step 2 is done, you do the usual thing, and then it's time for step 4!" which left me going "wtf what happened to 3."
So again, thank you for making such a concise intructable. I'm planing on growing my own catnip, and this guide is going to come in handy a few months down the road...!
BLASTED!
That's science being used for utterly important purposes. :) Seriously, most nerdy/crazy scientist/resource overkill statement I heard the whole year (as if distilling catnip wasn't already overkill)
Btw, I would do the same if I had a mass spectometer laying around. I'm just envious. :]
I just love this title; can't stop laughing at it. I just keep reading it over and over.
:P
TRI HOLER!
"Homeopathic" is an unregulated term in the U.S.
At best it means the "active" substance in solution/pill/whatever has simply been diluted down to pure water, sugar, or, well, sugar-water. At worst it's just a marketing term to hook "natural medicine" adherents into purchasing the product (c.f. Zicam).
http://www.skepdic.com/homeo.html
In the UK, where homeopathy has seen widespread support over the years, the British Medical Association condemned it as "witchcraft;" the The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee recently released a report concluding that homeopathy is nothing more than a placebo and furthermore that, "The Government should stop allowing the funding of homeopathy on the NHS;" and even more recently, the BMA is calling for an outright ban on the sale of homeopathic "treatments."
Just an FYI.
In homeopathy's corner, we have:
1. No conceivable plausible mechanism of action.
2. No studies whatsoever showing any statistically significant efficacy.
3. A simple syllogistic contradiction in its very principles (i.e. dilution and the Earth's water cycle, etc.).
There "may or may not" be a tiny teapot, orbiting an icy planet in a distant galaxy, so far away that our most powerful telescopes cannot detect it. Why should I care?
The scientific method tells us that the burden of proof rests squarely with the The Tiny Teapot believers.
You wrote, "...Theories and things once thought to be fact (as proven by science) are being effectively disproved on a daily basis."
The scientific method yields no thing called "fact." Hypotheses are tested, tests are repeated, and after some variable period of time, certain principles get promoted to the status of "theory," or even "law." But NEVER fact.
Science is self-correcting by design. And just as any naturalist or biologist would LOVE to see actual evidence of Bigfoot, imagine the glory of the chemist who's finally able to re-write the book on homeopathy?
Furthermore, promoting magical thinking and pseudoscience, no matter how innocent it seems, causes harm.
Homeopathy kills.
that being said, natural medicine, on the whole, is not hocus pocus. it is legitimate and is frequently a source for modern "traditional" medicine. this is often denied and vehemently denounced by the pharmaceutical companies and their pet politicians.
i am not opposed to the use of modern medicines, but much prefer natural alternatives when they are available and proven as effective.
whether you are using natural or traditional medicine you should always get a second opinion, and always be cautious of "the newest thing". medicine is a source of scam, from "big pharma" to the traveling snake-oil salesman. from the doctor who gets his free lunches from the pfizer rep to the patented, cures-everything, all-natural, drug-free, remedies advertised by your favorite radio host.
sick people are viewed by these swindlers as desperate and therefore easy targets. often this view is accurate, making medicine a VERY lucrative business.
> pocus. it is legitimate and is frequently a source for modern
> "traditional" medicine. this is often denied and vehemently
> denounced by the pharmaceutical companies and their pet
> politicians.
1. The great majority of so-called "natural medicine" is, in fact, bunk. Otherwise it would be efficiently extracted or synthesized and turned into ACTUAL MEDICINE. C.f. aspirin and countless other examples.
2. Who do you thin owns all of these dubious companies we refer to as purveyors of "natural medicine?" Do some digging and get get back to us. :-)
2. i don't often go for pre-packaged "natural remedies". i research the symptoms or illnesses i wish to treat and then i usually pick my own plants or select whole herbs from herbalists. if one of the "purveyors" of an ingredient i wish to obtain happens to be owned by a big pharma company, all well, at least i know what's going in my body, why, and what to expect from it.