When it comes to the ingredients of absinthe most people think of wormwood and thujone. Those two are closely related in the sense that thujone is derived from wormwood oil. Many rumours, lies and plain misconceptions about wormwood and thujone (and its effects) live on today. Most of them completely untrue. I will try to clarify what the fuzz is all about, and what wormwood and thujone really is.
Wormwood - the plant
Mediterranean perennial herb or shrubby plant (Artemisia absinthium) of the family Asteraceae (aster family), often cultivated in gardens and found as an escape in North America. It has silvery gray, deeply incised leaves and tiny yellow flower heads. Wormwood oil has been utilized since ancient times as an insect repellent, particularly for moths; until recently it was used for intestinal worms and for other medicinal purposes. It was also employed in brewing but is best known for its bitter principle which is an important ingredient of absinthe. Because of its bitter taste the common wormwood has long symbolized any rancor felt by man and is often so represented in the Bible. Other artemisias, some American, are also called wormwood; still others include southernwood (A. abrotanum), tarragon, silver king Artemisia (A. albula), old woman, or dusty miller (A. stelleriana), Roman wormwood (A. pontica), sagebrush, and the Levant wormseed (A. cina), which yields santonin. Wormwood is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae.
Wormwood and thujone
Thujone is the so called "active ingredient" in wormwood oil.
Thujone - chemically speaking
Alpha-thujone, has a similar molecular structure to menthol, a-pinene, eucalyptol, camphor and other monoterpenes. Formerly believed to have a THC (cannabinoid) structure-activity relationship and mechanism, a-thujone is now known to modulate only an entirely different receptor site, the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) system. GABA moderates the firing of neural synapses; a-thujone mildly antagonizes such inhibition.
Thujone levels in modern absinthe
Inside the EU there are regulations stating that commercial absinthe may contain up to 10 mg/kg thujone. Many modern brands produced both within the EU and outside, state that they have very high Thujone levels. Something that can never be controlled and confirmed by the general public. Most modern reproductions contain merely no thujone at all. The claims of high thujone levels are mostly for boosting sales. Either way, the thujone level in an absinthe is in no way detectable through taste. Bitterness come from wormwood, not thujone.
Thujone levels in vintage Belle Epoch absinthe
It is often stated that the absinthe produced in the 19th century had much larger amounts of thujone present than are allowed in today’s versions of the drink, which have to comply with EU limits of 10 mg/l. Values as high as 260 mg/l have been quoted by Arnold (Absinthe, Arnold WN, Scientific American, 1989 Jun, 260(6):112-7). However analytical techniques available in the 19th century were not capable of separating thujone from many of the related compounds present in the essential oils of the plants used to make absinthe and it is therefore likely that concentrations were grossly overestimated.
Thujone wormwood and other alcoholic beverages
Thujone, or traces of Thujone, can be found in many other beverages as well. Other bitters, as Vermouth, Gammel Dansk and Swedish extremely bitter Beskid dropper (translates to; Bitter Drops) all have as their main ingredient wormwood. Vermouth is really the German wormwood, and asserts that only the content. The odd part here is that none of these have never been banned anywhere in the world. And when there have been no reports of people suffering from neurological side effects of the wormwood in them, unless no other plain old alcoholism.
Thujone in our daily lives
-- Alpha Thujone is actually an important component in ointments, perfumes, creams, etc. mainly as a counter-irritant. Many nonprescription products containing Thujone, as VAP-O-Rub. In addition, White Cedar - commonly used against moths in wardrobes and chests receives its anti-insect effect from the Thujone in wood. What most people do not know that Thujone is not only happening in wormwood, but also in many of the culinary herbs such as Sage, Tansy and Tarragon. And as far as I know, nobody has suffered heavy neurotoxical effects of eating foods containing any of these.
Conclusion ...
In some absinthe there Thujone somewhat. In most absinthe there are virtually none. The Thujone in absinthe is not detectable by taste and not kill you, or you get high. Thujone extremely high intakes can cause convulsions, etc., but before reaching those levels of Thujone, we have gone or who died as a result of the amount of alcohol. The "side effects" of Thujone have never been tested. However, many say they experience a different kind of drunkenness of absinthe. Some call it a kind of clarity or higher state of consciousness. But if this would be the alleged presence of Thujone, the same effect would be obtained from vermouth or drink, for example, "Beskid Dropppar", and I know that for a not true! For my own opinion, much of this is a psychological effect, and to some extent I think it is also due to a combination of many other herbs contained in absinthe. However, most commercial reproductions of mixtures containing only oil and essences. One must never forget that we are dealing with a spirit with 55-70% alcohol! The level of Thujone in an absinthe has nothing to do with the quality of the drink and one can be fairly sure that a mark indicating that contain very high levels of Thujone, makes it only to increase sales and earn money in bad , Cheap products. However, in a recent test laboratory and scientific study showed that Versinthe La Blanche, the highest figure among the brands tested Thujone, a mere 5.4 mg / l. This leaves us with the fact that neither the wormwood, or Thujone is the devil. But then, why absinthe was banned? That is another thing, and that can be read in the "sticking to the facts"
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