We have worked with Australian farmers for many years to support locally grown produce.
Clearly the best example of this is our partnership with Ronald, Marleen and Emma van de Winckel at Marleen Herbs Tasmania. We now offer 110 Fresh Plant Tinctures, all organically grown on this stunning farm in Barrington, Tasmania. These tinctures are produced fresh on the farm before being sent to PPC for bottling.
Marleen Herbs also supply PPC with dried herbs for our Traditional Extracts. As you might guess, Echinacea purpurea whole plant is one of the biggest dried crops. Thirty years of herb growing experience in Europe has been brought to Australia, and if can be seen in the vibrant colour of this beautiful dried herb.
The cool conditions in Tasmania also mean Marleen Herbs produce outstanding dried Goldenrod, Horehound, Rosemary, Sage and Thyme, with more dried crops coming from Tasmania in the 2017/2018 growing season.
Green hulls of Black Walnut is another Australian-grown favourite. This one comes from North East Victoria. Black Walnut, known botanically as Juglans nigra, is often the rootstock that English walnut is grafted onto. The Black Walnut rootstock is more disease resistant.
If the graft fails, a Black Walnut tree is the result. There are not many around and we make sure ours are looked after. The green, immature walnuts are harvested in January each year and rushed to PPC. These walnuts are also processed fresh, with the extraction period taking 12 months. This extract is a favourite in Vermifuge worming formulations like our retail product Triplex. Funnily enough, this extract is also used in natural tanning products!
PPC also uses Victorian organically grown garlic for if very popular garlic extract. This extract is not only well supported by herbalists, but by organic dairy farms. The farmers use the garlic extract to treat Mastitis in dairy cows. The extract is administered vaginally and works systemically.
Other Australian crops are organic oats from our friends at Four Leaf Milling, as well as Green Oats, Cucumber and Pomegranate extracts sold into the cosmetic industry.
Australian native extracts are also popular with our cosmetic manufacturing customers, and we produce a range of eight Australian native extracts. The most commercially successful is Kakadu Plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana). The plums are harvested by an indigenous women’s cooperative in the Northern Territory, before being fresh frozen, and sent straight to PPC for extraction.
Although the actions of the extract are not well studied, it works well as an anti-oxidant and has also been used on prawns to extend their shelf life.
If you want to use more Australian grown, organically-produced extracts in your practice, just contact the PPC Herbs customer service. They are located here in our production facility, close to the action and ready to speak with you!
Call 03 9762 3777 or email sales@ppcherbs.com.au for further details and price lists.