Many tinctures are dissolved in Glycerol (E422). The advantage is that glycerol has a milder taste. The disadvantage is that Glycerol only dissolves water-soluble substances. In alcohol (ethanol) you get both fat-soluble and water-soluble substances dissolved from the herb. Thus, ethanol is the most effective way to dissolve all the essential oils and bring out the full power of the herb. Other advantages of ethanol are that the substances are easily absorbed in the body. With an ethanol tincture, the absorption takes place already in the mouth and the rest in the stomach. All the essential oils are already dissolved, and ready to be absorbed by the stomach. The alcohol causes the tincture to go directly into the body, and the ethanol does not have time to pass the liver. Ethanol tinctures also have a long shelf life. Ethanol tinctures also have major advantages over herbal pills. Herbal pills contain fine grind herbs in a capsule, which pass through the stomach to be dissolve. Unfortunately, not all active substances in the herb are dissolved in the stomach before the transport continues towards the intestine and out. Thus, not all the active substances in the herb are precipitated and absorbed by the body. This is why you dissolve a dried herb in hot water before consumption, or in ethanol. Then the body gets the essential oils already dissolved and can absorb them easily.