Ra-Hoor-Khuit Network's
Magickal Library
Draft of Absinthe FAQ
Newsgroups:
alt.drugs,rec.food.drink
From: matthew john baggott
Subject: Draft of Absinthe FAQ for alt.drugs
Keywords: Absinthe, Thujone, Wormwood
Date: 3 Feb 93 18:19:10 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago
Lines: 388
INTRODUCTION
this FAQ file was prepared by Matthew Baggott
(bagg@ellis.uchicago.edu)
for distribution on the newsgroup alt.drugs. It may be freely
reprinted and distributed as long as it is properly credited. If
you're reprinting the file in a zine (e- or otherwise), I'd like to
hear about it. Some uses of the medline abstracts might be go beyond
legal 'fair use' of that intellectual property. If I determine this
to be a problem, I'll replace the abstracts with summaries written
by myself. However, people reprinting this file may wish to leave
out that section of the FAQ if this issue is of concern to them.
Comments, questions, referenced information, and
personally-collected anecdotes relating to absinthe and wormwood are
welcome. File last updated on 3-FEB-93.
The following individuals contributed information or editorial
skills to this FAQ file: Michael Golden (mgolden@eecs.umich.edu)
archived the recipies which were posted to rec.food.drink by unknown
parties; Laurent Hagimont (hagimont@cnam.cnam.fr)
and Johnny Svensson
(svensson@ISI.edu) supplied information about the current
availability of absinthe; Johnny Svensson also gave information
about wormwood's use as a flavoring in vodka. Myra Chachkin (cs_myra@gsbvax.uchcicago.edu)
provided editorial comments on an earlier draft of this FAQ file.
These individuals deserve much credit for helping to compile obscure
data. Nonetheless, the perspectives, arguments, and errors of this
file are mine alone.
The file contains the following sections: What is absinthe?; What is
the active component in absinthe?; What plants contain thujone?; How
was/is absinthe made?; References; Recent references on
absinthe/thujone culled from medline; and Books on absinthe culled
from the University of California on-line card catalog. Each of
these sections is separated by a partial line of minus characters,
allowing one to easily page through the document.
----------
WHAT IS ABSINTHE?
Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made with an extract from wormwood
(Artemisia absinthium). It is an emerald green drink which is very
bitter (due to the presence of absinthin) and is therefore
traditionally poured over a perforated spoonful of sugar into a
glass of water. The drink then turns into an opaque white as the
essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic solution. Absinthe
was once popular among artists and writers and was used by Van Gogh,
Baudelaire, and Verlaine, to name a few. It appears to have been
believed to stimulate creativity.
However, in the 1850's, there began to be concern about the results
of chronic use. Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a
syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by
addiction, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations. This concern over
the health effects of absinthe was amplified by the prevailing
belief in Lamarckian theories of heredity.
In other words, it was believed that any traits acquired by
absinthists would be passed on to their children (1). Absinthe's
association with the bohemian lifestyle also worked to compound
fears about its effects, much as has happened with marijuana in
America. Absinthe was subsequently banned in many countries in the
beginning of the 1900's.
----------
WHAT IS THE ACTIVE COMPONENT IN ABSINTHE?
This issue is not entirely resolved. Alcohol is definitely one main
component. However, another candidate is the monoterpene, thujone,
which which is considered a convulsant. Thujone's mechanism of
action is not known, although structural similarities between
thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active component in marijuana)
have led some to hypothesize that both substances have the same site
of action in the brain. Thujone makes up 40 to 90% (by weight) of
the essence of wormwood, from which absinthe is made (2). Thus,
thujone would appear to be a good candidate for a second active
component in absinthe. Indeed, thujone has long been considered to
be the neurotoxic cause of absinthism.
However, the direct evidence to support this idea is scant. Absinthe
is 75% alcohol. Therefore, alcohol's effects will limit the amount
of thujone one can ingest. Quite simply, you can only drink a
moderate amount of absinthe before you become very drunk from the
alcohol. Thujone would have to be active at a very low dose or be
present in high quantities in order to have any appreciable effect.
In the "This and That" column in _Trends in the Pharmacological
Sciences_, "B. Max" made the following dose calculations:
How much thujone was present in absinthe? Steam distillation of
wormwood yields 0.27-0.40% of a bitter, dark-green oil (3) In a
typical recipe for absinthe, 2.5 kg of wormwood were used in
preparing 100 liters of absinthe (4). Typically, 1.5 oz was consumed
(diluted with water) per tipple (5). This is equivalent to 4.4 mg
wormwood oil per drink, or 2-4 mg thujone. This is far below the
level at which acute pharmacological effects are observed. Even
chronic administration of 10 mg/kg thujone to rats does not alter
spontaneous activity of conditioned behavior (6). The literature on
the pharmacology of thujone is, to put it bluntly, second rate, and
conclusions as to its effects have been extrapolated far beyond the
experimental base (7).
Furthermore, the symptoms of absinthism do not appear to be that
unlike those of alcoholism. Hallucinations, sleeplessness, tremors,
paralysis, and convulsions can also be noted in cases of alcoholism.
This suggests that the syndrome "absinthism" mayy well have been
caused by alcohol.
Because absinthe is no longer popular, little research has been done
into its effects on health. Reports on thujone's/absinthe's toxicity
seem to rely mostly on case reports from the beginning of the
century or earlier. Lacking more recent research, it seems most
reasonable to take reports of absinthe's toxicity with skepticism.
Essentially, there is little good data to suggest that absinthe's
active components were anything other than alcohol.
(In fairness, I should mention that several individuals who have
taken home-made absinthe or who have drunk it where it is legal have
claimed to me that it produced an intoxication unlike that of
alcohol.)
In addition to alcohol and thujone, absinthe sometimes contained
methanol (wood alcohol), which could have contributed to the
symptoms of absinthism. Calamus (acorus calamus) and nutmeg
(myristica fragrans) were also sometimes used in making absinthe.
Both plants have reputations for being psychedelics, although to my
best of knowledge only nutmeg's psychedelic properties have been
well established. However, it seems unlikely that either plant would
have been added in the quanitities necessary to produce psychoactive
effects.
----------
WHAT MODERN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ARE THERE WHICH ARE RELATED TO
ABSINTHE?
Pernod is basically absinthe without the wormwood. It is named after
Henri-Louis Pernod, an individual who ran an absinthe factory in
France in the early 1800s. As a substitute for wormwood, the modern
drink Pernod uses increased amounts of aniseed. Ricard is the name
of another modern wormwood-less absinthe.
Also, vermouth, chartreuse, and benedictine all contain small
amounts of thujone. In fact, vermouth, which is made using the
flower heads from wormwood, takes its name from the german "wermuth"
("wormwood").
Absinthe (made with wormwood) is still available in Spain and
reportedly in Denmark and Portugal as well.
Wormwood is popular as a flavoring for vodka in Sweden.
It is also possible to buy oil of wormwood (produced by steam
distillation) from companies that sell essential oils. One such
company is The Essential Oil Co., PO Box 206, Lake Oswego, OR,
97034. 503-697-5992; FAX 503-697-0615; Orders 1-800-729-5912.
Catalog is free, but there is a $50 minimum order (orders under $50
are accepted but charged an additional $5 service charge).
The company also sells other oils of interest to readers of this
newsgroup.
Caution should be exercised with these oils since they can contain
significant amounts of pharmacologically active and/or toxic
elements.
----------
WHAT PLANTS CONTAIN THUJONE?
According to W. N. Arnold's _Scientific American_ article:
Thujone occurs in a variety of plants, including tansy (Tanace-tum
vulgare) and sage (salvia officinalis), as well as in all the trees
of the arborvitae group, of which the thuja (Thuja occidentalis), or
white cedar, is one. It is also characteristic of most species of
Artemisia, a genus within the Compositae, or daisy, family. Wormwood
(Artemisia absinthium) and Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica) were
the main sources of the thujone in absinthe (4).
----------
HOW WAS/IS ABSINTHE MADE?
_Simon and Schulter's Guide to Herbs and Spices_ tells us that
Henri-Louis Pernod used aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemonbalm along
with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper,
nutmeg, and veronica.
These ingredients were mascerated together with wormwood plants.
After leaving the mixture to sit, water was added and the mixture
was distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to
the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give a
concentration of about 75% alcohol by volume (8). Different absinthe
manufacturers used slightly different ingredients, sometimes using
calamus, which has been purported to have psychoactive effects.
In addition to these ingredients, manufacturers sometimes added
other ingredients to produce the drink's emerald green color.
Normally, this color was due to the presence of chlorophyll from the
plants. However, in the event that the product was not properly
colored, absinthe makers were known to add things like copper
sulfate, indigo, turmeric, and aniline green. Antimony chloride was
also used to help the drink become cloudy when added to water.
Presumably modern makers of Pernod and absinthe use safer
ingredients for their concoctions!
Here are some recipes for "absinthe" which were originally posted to
rec.food.drink. Absinthe is placed in quotes since only the last
recipe here will produce something resembling the traditional drink.
I have not personally tried these recipes and do not claim that they
are safe
or even tasty.
** Absinthe #1 **
1 pint vodka 2 tsp crumbled wormwood (dried)
2tsp anise seed 1/2 tsp fennel seed
4 cardomom pods 1 tsp majoram
1/2 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp chopped angelica root
1 2/3 cups sugar syrup
Place vodka in large jar with tight fitting lid. Add wormwood and
shake well; steep 48 hrs and strain out. Crush seeds and pods in
mortar. Add them and all remaining spices to vodka and steep in a
warm place 1 week.
Filter and sweeten. (The sugar syrup mentioned above is your
standard simple syrup.)
** Absinthe #2 **
1 tsp crumbled wormwood
1 cup vodka
2 Tbsp chopped peppermint leaves
1 piece of lemon peel, 3/4"x2"
1/3-1/2 cup sugar syrup
Steep wormwood in vodka for 48 hours. Strain out and add peppermint
leaves and lemon peel. Steep for 8 days, strain and sweeten. Smells
good but is more bitter than #1.
** Absinthe Wine **
All herbs are dried.
2 tsp peppermint 2tsp dried wormwood
2 tsp thyme 2 tsp lavender
2 tsp hyssop 2 tsp majoram
2 tsp sage 2 pints port
Steep herbs one week, filter and bottle. My notes describe this as
"bitter, aromatic and potent".
** Absinthe #3 **
>From Arnold's article in _Scientific American_:
An 1855 recipe from Pontarlier, France, gives the following
instructions for making absinthe: Macerate 2.5 kilograms of dried
wormwood, 5 kilograms of anise and 5 kilograms of fennel in 95
liters of 85 percent ethanol by volume. Let the mixture steep for at
least 12 hours in the pot of a double boiler. Add 45 liters of water
and apply heat; collect 95 liters of distillate. To 40 liters of the
distillate, add 1 kilogram of Roman wormwood, 1 kilogram of hyssop
and 500 grams of lemon balm, all of which have been dried and finely
divided. Extract at a moderate temperature, then siphon off the
liquor, filter, and reunite it with the remaining 55 liters of
distillate. Dilute with water to produce approximately 100 liters of
absinthe with a final alcohol concentration of 74 percent by volume
(4).
----------
REFERENCES:
(1) Murphy, R. B. and Schneider, L. H. (1992) _Soc. Neurosci.
Abstr._, Vol.
18, Part 1, p. 180.
(2) Simonsen, J. L. (1949) _The Terpenes_ Vol. 2, Univ. Press.
(3) Guenther, E. (1952) _The Essential Oils_ Vol. 5, Van Nostrand.
(4) Arnold, W. M. (1989) _Scientific American_ 260 (June), 112-117.
(5) Vogt, D. D. and Montagne, M. (1982) _Int. J. Addict_ 17, 1015-
1029.
(6) Pinto-Scognamiglio, W. (1968) _Boll. Chim. Farm._ 107, 780-791.
(7) Max, B. (1990) _TiPS_ 11 (Feb), 58-60.
(8) Simonetti, Gualtiero (1990) _Simon and Schuster's Guide to Herbs
and Spices_, Simon and Schuster.
----------
RECENT ARTICLES ON ABSINTHE AND THUJONE CULLED FROM MEDLINE:
1. Bonard EC.
[Absinthe and malaria].
Revue Medicale de la Suisse Romande, 1992 Oct, 112(10):907-8
Language: French.
(UI: 93067843)
2. Bonkovsky HL; Cable EE; Cable JW; Donohue SE; White EC; Greene
YJ; Lambrecht RW; Srivastava KK; Arnold WN.
Porphyrogenic properties of the terpenes camphor, pinene, and
thujone (with a note on historic implications for absinthe and the
illness of Vincent van Gogh).
Biochemical Pharmacology, 1992 Jun 9, 43(11):2359-68.
(UI: 92304361)
Pub type: Historical Article; Historical Biography; Journal Article.
Abstract: Camphor, alpha-pinene (the major component of turpentine),
and thujone (a constituent in the liqueur called absinthe) produced
an increase in porphyrin production in primary cultures of chick
embryo liver cells. In the presence of desferrioxamine (an iron
chelator which inhibits heme synthesis and thereby mimics the effect
of the block associated with acute porphyria), the terpenes enhanced
porphyrin accumulation 5- to 20-fold.
They also induced synthesis of the rate-controlling enzyme for the
pathway, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase, which was monitored both
spectrophotometrically and immunochemically. These effects are
shared by well-known porphyrogenic chemicals such as phenobarbital
and glutethimide.
Camphor and glutethimide alone led to the accumulation of mostly
uro- and heptacarboxylporphyrins, whereas alpha-pinene and thujone
resulted in lesser accumulations of porphyrins which were
predominantly copro- and protoporphyrins. In the presence of
desferrioxamine, plus any of the three erpenes, the major product
that accumulated was protoporphyrin. The present results indicate
that the terpenes tested are porphyrogenic and hazardous to patients
with underlying defects in hepatic heme synthesis.
There are also implications for the illness of Vincent van Gogh and
the once popular, but now banned liqueur, called absinthe.
3. Arnold WN; Loftus LS.
Xanthopsia and van Gogh's yellow palette.
Eye, 1991, 5 ( Pt 5):503-10.
(UI: 92175120)
Pub type: Historical Article; Historical Biography; Journal Article.
Abstract: A survey of van Gogh's work from 1886 to 1890 indicated
that paintings with a yellow dominance were numerous, episodic, and
multi-regional. His underlying illness, by his own admission,
affected his life and work; furthermore, episodes of malnutrition,
substance abuse, environmental exposure, and drug experimentation
(all evident from correspondence) exacerbated his condition.
Accordingly, we reviewed plausible agents that might have modified
the artist's colour perception.
Xanthopsia due to overdosage of digitalis or santonin is well
documented elsewhere, but evidence of useage of either drug by van
Gogh cannot be substantiated. It is unlikely that ageing of the
human lens was an influence because of the artist's youth. Sunstroke
is too restrictive to fit the multiplicity of regions and motifs.
Hallucinations induced by absinthe, the popular liqueur of the
period, may explain particular canvases but not the majority of
'high yellow' paintings. Van Gogh's proclivity for exaggerated
colours and his embrance of yellow in particular are clear from his
letters and, in contradistinction to chemical or physical insults
modifying perception, artistic preference is the best working
hypothesis to explain the yellow dominance in his palette.
4. Arnold WN.
Absinthe.
Scientific American, 1989 Jun, 260(6):112-7.
(UI: 89266842)
Pub type: Historical Article; Journal Article.
Comment: As one would expect from _Sci Am_, this is a good general
article written by someone who has obviously written extensively on
the subject. However, IMHO the author is insufficiently critical of
of his historical sources.
5. Arnold WN.
Vincent van Gogh and the thujone connection.
Jama, 1988 Nov 25, 260(20):3042-4.
(UI: 89037535)
Pub type: Historical Article; Historical Biography; Journal Article.
Abstract: During his last two years Vincent van Gogh experienced
fits with hallucinations that have been attributed to a congenital
psychosis. But the artist admitted to episodes of heavy drinking
that were amply confirmed by colleagues and there is good evidence
to indicate that addiction to absinthe exacerbated his illness.
Absinthe was distilled from an alcoholic steep of herbs. Wormwood
(Artemisia absinthium) was the most significant constituent because
it contributed thujone. This terpene can cause excitation,
convulsions that mimic epilepsy, and even permanent brain damage.
Statements in van Gogh's letters and from his friends indicate that
he had an affinity for substances with a chemical connection to
thujone; the documented examples are camphor and pinene. Perhaps he
developed an abnormal craving for terpenes, a sort of pica, that
would explain his attempts to eat paints and so on, which were
previously regarded as unrelated absurdities.
6. Ishida T; Toyota M; Asakawa Y.
Terpenoid biotransformation in mammals. V. Metabolism of
(+)-citronellal,
(+-)-7-hydroxycitronellal, citral, (-)-perillaldehyde, (-)-myrtenal,
cuminaldehyde, thujone, and (+-)-carvone in rabbits.
Xenobiotica, 1989 Aug, 19(8):843-55.
(UI: 90051443)
----------
BOOKS ON ABSINTHE CULLED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ON-LINE
CARD
CATALOG:
1. Conrad, Barnaby, 1953-
Absinthe : history in a bottle / Barnaby Conrad III. San Francisco :
Chronicle Books, c1988.
2. Delahaye, Marie-Claude.
L'absinthe : histoire de la fee verte / Marie-Claude Delahaye. Paris
:
Berger-Levrault, c1983.
Series title: Arts et traditions populaires.
3. Sangle-Ferriere.
Nouvelle methode d'analyse des absinthes, par MM. Sangle-Ferriere
... & L.
Cuniasse ... Paris, Vve C. Dunod, 1902.
This page last updated: 03/01/2018