This is indeed confirmed when GLC analysis is applied to samples of absinthes and the results do show much lower thujone levels than expected. However not all of the thujone will find its way into the distillate, and the final concentration in the finished absinthe would have been lower still. Indeed, Bedel gives the amount of dried wormwood used in a typical recipe as 2.5 kg in 100 l which, based on widely accepted yields of oil, equates to 87.5 mg/l of oil, of which between 34 and 72% will comprise thujone, giving a final maximum concentration of thujone in the predistilled absinthe of 30 to 63 mg/l assuming 100% extraction (Traite Complet de la Fabrication Des Liqueurs, Bedel, 1899, Paris). 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. Values as high as 260 mg/l have been quoted by Arnold (Absinthe, Arnold WN, Scientific American, 1989 Jun, 260(6):112-7). It is often stated that the absinthe produced in the 19th century had much larger amounts of thujone present than are allowed in todayâs versions of the drink, which have to comply with EU limits of 10 mg/l. At around the same time, it was becoming generally accepted that thujone, a terpene found in wormwood, was responsible for absintheâs secondary effects, detrimental or otherwise. On the other hand, millions of French people enjoyed the occasional glass of absinthe after work without any ill effects. There should be no surprise at the correlation of absinthe drinking amongst the destitute and alcoholics, it was the cheapest way of buying strong alcohol. Magnan was preoccupied with the degeneration of the French race, which he blamed on alcohol and in particular, absinthe. He not only concluded that absinthe caused medical and psychological troubles not associated with the high consumption of alcohol, he argued that absintheâs deleterious effects were hereditary. However, it is now accepted that Magnanâs interpretations were oversimplified and alarmist. Magnan extended his studies to acute alcoholics and concluded that absinthe produced symptoms in humans that were distinct from alcoholic delirium tremens and manifest themselves as epileptic convulsions This purportedly shows that wormwood oil and alcohol produce a synergistic effect which leads to epileptiform convulsions. Experiments and observations on absinthe and absinthism. Comptus Rendu des Seances et Memoires de la Société de Biologie (Paris) 1869 5(4th series): 156-61) (Amory R. Epilepsie alcoolique action spéciale de l’absinthe: épilepsie absinthique. The first published evidence for absintheâs harmful effects in animals dates from the 1860s (Magnan V. So what is the published scientific evidence for the harm or benefits of absinthe? Wormwood has had a long history in folk medicine dating back as far as ancient Greece when it was variously prescribed for rheumatism, jaundice, menstrual pains and as an aid in child birth, but it only attracted scientific attention in the mid-19th century.Īt this time there was a powerful prohibitionist lobby gaining public attention throughout France and it should be noted that research was rarely totally independent and was conducted to support a particular position, for or against the banning of alcohol. Ordinaireâs recipe eventually found its way into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who established the Pernod fils dynasty when he opened his first distillery in 1805, and very soon âExtrait dâabsintheâ stopped being a local curiosity and started on its route to becoming a national phenomenon in France, and by the end of the 19th century it had been embraced by the Bourgeoisie and demi-monde alike with over 2 million litres being consumed annually in France. The origins of absinthe can be traced back to the end of the 18th century, when Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor, used wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) together with anise, fennel, hyssop and various other herbs distilled in an alcoholic base as a herbal remedy for his patients. Myth, Reality and Absinthe – The Truth about Thujone
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