| The Effects of Absinthe - Thujone |
The distinctive herb in absinthe is grand wormwood (Artemesia absinthium), and
the chemical name for the principle active ingredient in wormwood is thujone.
Thujone is a terpene and is related to menthol, which is known for its healing and
restorative qualities. In its chemically pure form, it is a colourless liquid with a
menthol-like aroma. Oil of Artemesia absinthium (or wormwood oil as it's usually
called) is approximately 40-60% thujone.
Thujone – pronounced "thoo-jone" with a soft 'J' – is a naturally occurring
substance, also found in the bark of the thuja, or white cedar, tree, and in other
herbs besides wormwood - including tansy and the comon sage used in cooking.
Aside from absinthe, other popular liquors, including vermouth, Chartreuse, and
Benedictine, also contain small amounts of thujone. In fact, vermouth, which was
originally made using the flower heads from the wormwood plant, takes its name
from the German "wermut" ("wormwood").
Extremely high doses of thujone are dangerous, and have been shown to cause
convulsions in laboratory animals, but the concentration of thujone actually found in
absinthe is many thousands of times lower than this.
Thujone's mechanism of action on the brain is not fully understood although certain
structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active
component in marijuana) led to some speculation in the 1970's that both
substances have the same site of action in the brain. Doubt was cast on this
hypothesis almost immediately, and more recent scientific research has
completely discredited this idea.
Some researchers have now hypothesised that the reputed "secondary effects" of
absinthe have nothing directly to do with thujone at all - if they in fact exist at all, they
may be caused by the interaction of some of the other constituent herbs ( fenchone
in fennel, pinocamphonethe in hyssop, and the anethole in anise, have all been
shown to cause epileptiform convulsions in laboratory animals when administered
in very large doses).
The effect of well-made absinthe varies from person to person, but is typically no
more marked than the mild “buzz” one gets from drinking tequila. Generally, it can
best be described as a kind of heightened clarity of mind and vision, warmed by the
effect of the alcohol. This seems to wear off after 20 or 30 minutes. Some users
report unusually vivid dreams. Since absinthe is 55% -72% alcohol, the alcohol's
effects will in any event limit the amount of thujone you can ingest. Most modern
“legal” absinthes, in keeping with EU regulations, contains less than 10mg of
thujone per litre, and recent research has shown that pre-ban Pernod Fils, contrary
to ill-informed speculation by several authors, including Strang and Arnold in a
widely quoted 1999 British Medical Journal article, also had relatively low thujone
levels.
Increasingly it seems clear in fact that well-made absinthes following authentic
traditional recipes seldom have thujone levels much in excess of 35mg/l, the EU
standard for thujone in bitters (a category that can, in practice, include absinthe),
and many quite naturally fall under the 10mg/l level. It seems that irrespective of the
quantity of wormwood used, relatively little thujone makes it through the distilling
process into the final distillate. So the entire historical demonization of absinthe
based on its allegedly high thujone content now appears to have been based on a
wholly false premise.
The high thujone levels claimed by many Czech and German made "absinths" are
invariably false (in fact, some of these products, when analysed by gas
chromatograph and mass spectrometer, show no detectable thujone at all).
More broadly, independent data on the actual thujone level of many contemporary
absinthes is often strikingly at variance with the levels claimed by the
manufacturers. It's worth bearing in mind that thujone testing is a complex process,
requiring sophisticated equipment and considerably technical experience on the
part of the operator. False or anomalous results are not unusual even from
laboratories with a reputation for competence, and so all results should be treated
with caution, at least until verified by multiple independent testing.
Permitted maximum thujone levels in foodstuffs and liquor are:
European Community (and many other countries, which have adopted the same de
facto standards):
0.5 mg/kg in food not prepared with sage and non alcoholic beverages.
5 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages with 25% or less ABV.
10 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages with more than 25% ABV. (Most absinthe falls
into this category)
25 mg/kg in food prepared with sage.
35 mg/kg in alcohol labeled as bitters. (Some absinthe is sold labelled as bitters
to allow a higher thujone level)
United States:
Foods or beverages that contain any Artemisia species, White Cedar, oak moss,
tansy or Yarrow must be completely thujone free. Until recently there was no
perrmitted legal level, however a change in the administrative regulations
effective from 2007 defines "thujone free" as less than 10ppm - a similar (but
not identical) level to the EU 10mg/l standard. Effectively this opens the door for
the first time to the legal sale of at least some absinthes in the USA.
Paradoxically, other herbs that contain thujone have no restrictions at all - for
example, sage and sage oil (which can be more than 50% thujone) are on the
Food and Drug Administration's list of Substances Generally Recognized as Safe.
As a rule of thumb, any absinthe claiming exceptionally high thujone levels should
be avoided, as it's almost certainly a poor quality oil-mix, supported by bogus
marketing hype.
the chemical name for the principle active ingredient in wormwood is thujone.
Thujone is a terpene and is related to menthol, which is known for its healing and
restorative qualities. In its chemically pure form, it is a colourless liquid with a
menthol-like aroma. Oil of Artemesia absinthium (or wormwood oil as it's usually
called) is approximately 40-60% thujone.
Thujone – pronounced "thoo-jone" with a soft 'J' – is a naturally occurring
substance, also found in the bark of the thuja, or white cedar, tree, and in other
herbs besides wormwood - including tansy and the comon sage used in cooking.
Aside from absinthe, other popular liquors, including vermouth, Chartreuse, and
Benedictine, also contain small amounts of thujone. In fact, vermouth, which was
originally made using the flower heads from the wormwood plant, takes its name
from the German "wermut" ("wormwood").
Extremely high doses of thujone are dangerous, and have been shown to cause
convulsions in laboratory animals, but the concentration of thujone actually found in
absinthe is many thousands of times lower than this.
Thujone's mechanism of action on the brain is not fully understood although certain
structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active
component in marijuana) led to some speculation in the 1970's that both
substances have the same site of action in the brain. Doubt was cast on this
hypothesis almost immediately, and more recent scientific research has
completely discredited this idea.
Some researchers have now hypothesised that the reputed "secondary effects" of
absinthe have nothing directly to do with thujone at all - if they in fact exist at all, they
may be caused by the interaction of some of the other constituent herbs ( fenchone
in fennel, pinocamphonethe in hyssop, and the anethole in anise, have all been
shown to cause epileptiform convulsions in laboratory animals when administered
in very large doses).
The effect of well-made absinthe varies from person to person, but is typically no
more marked than the mild “buzz” one gets from drinking tequila. Generally, it can
best be described as a kind of heightened clarity of mind and vision, warmed by the
effect of the alcohol. This seems to wear off after 20 or 30 minutes. Some users
report unusually vivid dreams. Since absinthe is 55% -72% alcohol, the alcohol's
effects will in any event limit the amount of thujone you can ingest. Most modern
“legal” absinthes, in keeping with EU regulations, contains less than 10mg of
thujone per litre, and recent research has shown that pre-ban Pernod Fils, contrary
to ill-informed speculation by several authors, including Strang and Arnold in a
widely quoted 1999 British Medical Journal article, also had relatively low thujone
levels.
Increasingly it seems clear in fact that well-made absinthes following authentic
traditional recipes seldom have thujone levels much in excess of 35mg/l, the EU
standard for thujone in bitters (a category that can, in practice, include absinthe),
and many quite naturally fall under the 10mg/l level. It seems that irrespective of the
quantity of wormwood used, relatively little thujone makes it through the distilling
process into the final distillate. So the entire historical demonization of absinthe
based on its allegedly high thujone content now appears to have been based on a
wholly false premise.
The high thujone levels claimed by many Czech and German made "absinths" are
invariably false (in fact, some of these products, when analysed by gas
chromatograph and mass spectrometer, show no detectable thujone at all).
More broadly, independent data on the actual thujone level of many contemporary
absinthes is often strikingly at variance with the levels claimed by the
manufacturers. It's worth bearing in mind that thujone testing is a complex process,
requiring sophisticated equipment and considerably technical experience on the
part of the operator. False or anomalous results are not unusual even from
laboratories with a reputation for competence, and so all results should be treated
with caution, at least until verified by multiple independent testing.
Permitted maximum thujone levels in foodstuffs and liquor are:
European Community (and many other countries, which have adopted the same de
facto standards):
0.5 mg/kg in food not prepared with sage and non alcoholic beverages.
5 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages with 25% or less ABV.
10 mg/kg in alcoholic beverages with more than 25% ABV. (Most absinthe falls
into this category)
25 mg/kg in food prepared with sage.
35 mg/kg in alcohol labeled as bitters. (Some absinthe is sold labelled as bitters
to allow a higher thujone level)
United States:
Foods or beverages that contain any Artemisia species, White Cedar, oak moss,
tansy or Yarrow must be completely thujone free. Until recently there was no
perrmitted legal level, however a change in the administrative regulations
effective from 2007 defines "thujone free" as less than 10ppm - a similar (but
not identical) level to the EU 10mg/l standard. Effectively this opens the door for
the first time to the legal sale of at least some absinthes in the USA.
Paradoxically, other herbs that contain thujone have no restrictions at all - for
example, sage and sage oil (which can be more than 50% thujone) are on the
Food and Drug Administration's list of Substances Generally Recognized as Safe.
As a rule of thumb, any absinthe claiming exceptionally high thujone levels should
be avoided, as it's almost certainly a poor quality oil-mix, supported by bogus
marketing hype.
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For a comprehensive databank on all scientific research on thujone and absinthe, see our sister site www.thujone.info.
For a comprehensive databank on all scientific research on thujone and absinthe, see our sister site www.thujone.info.
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By Dirk W. Lachenmeier, David Nathan-Maister, Theodore A. Breaux, Eva-Maria Sohnius, Kerstin Schoeberl, and Thomas Kuballa
Published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, April 2008
