Blood Red Isopropyl...is this normal?

[slinginsage]

I started an isopropyl extraction the other day, unfortunately I could only obtain 91% where I live, so I am using a much longer extraction period.  48hrs or better.   Anyways, as I periodically pull it from its dark hiding place and shake it for a good few minutes, I got curious as to its color.  It appeared pure black to the naked eye.  I pulled out a 3 watt led flashlight and examined it, to witness, not the dark green I have come to expect but a brilliant red, that contrasts the green plant material held in suspension.



I am completely puzzled by this. I would expect brown, or green suspension, but red?  I have never done a 2-propanol  extraction such as this before, I would just like some reassurance as to whether or not this is normal, and if not will the crude extract be rendered unsafe due to this?  Any and all help will be greatly appreciated, thank you very much.

~Slingin'

[Arcygenical]

Nope. It should actually be red. I talked about it in my guide! But, please, don't shine a 3w LED flashlight at your extract!

3) Pour off the acetone into another glass container, and immediately put it in the freezer. This helps reduce evaporation of the solvent. The acetone should be a dark green/brown (and sometimes red) colour. Don't worry about getting the odd leaf piece in the mixture at this point.

Also, what sort of container are you using? If it's plastic, Move the extract to glass or metal right away!

[slinginsage]

I use glass of course!  I've used this setup for acetone extractions but wanted to try my luck with 2-propanol.
Thank you very much, I was getting worried,  I never really looked at the color as closely when I did the acetone extractions, and it always appeard a dark green. 

Thank you very much for your help.  I've been a member for all of an hour or so and have already received helpful replies.  I truly appreciate it.

[Arcygenical]

Any time man, glad I could clear some stuff up for you. I've found that the browner the original leaves are, the redder the extract will be. I dry my leaves open in the freezer, and my extract is almost neon green.

I've never really had too much luck with IPA extractions before... I mean, it takes forever to evaporate and the resulting product is chalk full of chlorophylls and other nasties. Nothing a naphtha wash or two can't clean out though .

Good luck!

[slinginsage]

Yep!  I hope to have yields at least marginally similar to those I produced from my acetone extractions which I always naptha was until nice and white or as close to white as I can come by.  I generally
sit my salvinorin-a filled solvent on a nice little personal heating pad for aches and pains, which produces a nice steady 125 or so degrees F. (checked constantly to ensure it doesn't get too hot), and the vapors flee the scene rather quickly, especially with acetone.  I only hope that isopropyl will be at least half as kind to evaporate quickly.

[Arcygenical]

99% isopropyl will take about twice as long as Acetone to evaporate... 91% will take substantially longer.

What were you getting yield wise with Acetone? My last chilled acetone extraction (155 gram leaf material) yielded 351mg of pure salvinorin A after about 10mg was removed with a final IPA wash... This is close to 90-100%.

[DrYRHead]

Also, sometimes when extracting plant matter with alcohols the chlorophyll gets denatured. This can the solution to tern from green to brown, or even reddish-brown, as in this case above.

[slinginsage]

When using acetone I believe my last yield was 288mg of pure salvinorin A from 100g of leaf.  I have had a yield of a tad over 300mg of Salvinorin A, something like 309 mg I believe from 100g of leaf after about 3 initial acetone washes.
I actually grew some crystals from that yield, although they were small.  I felt that was a rather large yield, I must have had some very good leaf.

I'm hoping for at least an average of 250mg from the 100g I am working with this time. I need around 250mg to make
5 grams of 50mg standardized extract for some friends.  But we shall see what I can get to work with this time. 

Due to my impatience, I will probably continue to use acetone in the future,  I really do hate waiting, and I imagine it will take more naptha washes to clean it out this time.

[Dominaduro]

A little late, but I might as well throw my 2 cents in. The red has been there for most of my extractions.

IPA will work, however, the reason that I don't like using it is because it does such a good job dissolving impurities. Chilled acetone takes in way more Sal-A than IPA while leaving out a lot of impurities.

Out of my many extractions, acetone for extracting, IPA for washing....has always worked best. I use the naphtha to wash first since it doesn't suck up as much Sal-A. The less IPA washes required, the higher the yield.

[DrYRHead]

IPA is OK to use to extract resins to redissolve into ethanol to make a tincture, but if one is trying for a purer product. Then chilled acetone is, indeed, the way to go.