Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

[Striborg]

What of the idea of purchasing commercial absinthe then boiling some wormwood and adding it to up the Thujone content?

[jazzone]

be careful with wormwood it can be fatal if used incorrectly

[Budman2012]

G'day All ... Just been thinking of doing this myself and was looking at the "Wormwood" in the shop the other day

Any other comments from people who have tried this?? ...

Also , Could this be done with ***** (other) seeds for a sedative/painkiller effect?

 

I also don't mind that idea of Striborgs there ... I beleive the Counter Absinthe is relatively strong , 45-50% alch I think? (don't quote me , I've only ever had a shot (didn't notice anything)

Had a couple of mates who ordered a bottle one time , From LiquorLand (Just ask to order some if the bottleshop doesn't have it , most probably will although It costs ya ) ... They were absolutely out of it that night but who knows because that wasn't the only thing they were on I'm sure

 

I'd forgotten Spurious's recipe there but now find it interesting that it seems to involve actually fermenting the wormwood into the Vodka ... Not so difficult really ... but not time for another hobby for me at this time heheh

 

ANyway , An Interesting thing to be sure ... anyone ever hear that old fella that used to ring up Triple J and made Absinthe (won awards and stuff) hahah what a champion , very cool funny guy

Cheerz all and Enjoy

 

Budman

 

P.s. Jazzone , Would you care to elaborate a little on that? , How can it be dangerous? , do you mean by Ingesting Pure Wormwood oil extract? ... Alot of things can be fatal if used incorrectly , take a chainsaw for example heh , yeh maybe more comparable to something like Heroin , a very pure drug but you wouldn't put it in your system like that , ofc it must be diluted

 

From WikiPedia ...

It is an ingredient in the liquor absinthe, and also used for flavouring in some other spirits and wines, including bitters, vermouth and pelinkovac. It is also used medically as a tonic, stomachic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, febrifuge and anthelmintic. In the Middle Ages it was used to spice mead.[2]

 

Therapeutic uses:

The leaves and flowering tops are gathered when the plant is in full bloom, and dried naturally or with artificial heat. Its active substances include silica, two bitter elements (absinthine and anabsinthine), thujone, tannic and resinous substances, malic acid, and succinic acid. Its use has been claimed to remedy indigestion and gastric pain, it acts as an antiseptic, and as a febrifuge. For medicinal use, the herb is used to make a tea for helping pregnant women during pain of labor. A dried encapsulated form of the plant is used as an anthelmintic.

A wine can also be made by macerating the herb. It is also available in powder form and as a tincture. The oil of the plant can be used as a cardiac stimulant to improve blood circulation. Pure wormwood oil is very poisonous, but with proper dosage poses little or no danger. Wormwood is mostly a stomach medicine.[3]

Artemisia Absinthium - Wikipedia Link.

[jazzone]

Pure wormwood contains thujone, which can be harmful or even fatal if injested in large amounts . I been looking at making Absinth for a while . I have some interesting recipes but some places off the tourist strip in Prague sell absinth using old recipes

 

 

 

Are there any other psychoactive elements present in Absinthe ?

 

Anise - is another one of the main herbs used in making legitimate Absinthe. It is not toxic, however a strong dose induces drunkenness, trembling, epileptic convulsions, muscle spasms, analgesia and sleep, just like opium.

Will I hallucinate ?

 

Fennel - as has anise seed, fennel seed has a potentially psychoactive anethole.

Hyssop - in progressive doses, is believed to have a convulsive property.

Angelica - root is grown as a drug in Lapland.

Coriander - is mentioned as an aphrodisiac in the Arabic One Thousand and One Nights, and is said, in the same text, to conjure up the Devil when used in combination with fennel.

Calamis -contains psychoactive asarones, used as an inebriant by Native Americans.

So we are left wondering if Absinthe, or rather wormwood and its essence thujone in Absinthe, is to blame for its effects.

 

 

^^^^ http://www.absinth.com/links/faq.html

 

 

 

Safety#

 

In extreme quantities, thujone is toxic and may cause hyperactivity, excitability, delirium, seizures or worse.

 

Absinthe drinkers needn't fear, however, as only a small amount of thujone actually survives the absinthe distillation process. No matter how much absinthe you might drink, the chances of a thujone-induced delirium remain nil -- you would suffer fatal alcohol poisoning long before that.

 

"In absinthe, the most toxic compound is the alcohol," confirmed biochemist Wilfred Arnold of the University of Kansas. "Absinthe generally contains less than ten parts [of thujone] per million," he continued.

 

Thujone poisoning is a possibility with home-made, undistilled "absinthes" though -- so beware those do-it-yourself absinthe recipes that suggest mixing wormwood oil with alcohol. At best, you will end up with a foul-tasting liquor that bears no resemblance to real absinthe. At worst, you will end up in a hospital. Wormwood oil, in its raw form, is a poison.

 

 

^^^^http://www.absinthefever.com/thujone

 

 

 

 

PROBLEMS #

 

Alpha- and beta-thujone, the psychoactive agents in wormwood, are convulsants. High doses of wormwood can cause seizures, renal failure, and death. While informal estimates of the ratio of effective dose to lethal dose appear to be relatively high (around 1 to 1-200), it is difficult to control dose levels, particularly when dealing with extracts and oils that may vary dramatically in thujone content.

 

 

Long Term Health Problems #

Speculation regarding the neurotoxicity of wormwood has been common since the early nineteenth century, culminating in fears that it was responsible for so-called absinthism, a putative neurotoxic syndrome associated with absinthe consumption and responsible for its widespread ban. Strong evidence now exists that most of those particular fears were baseless, but the health impact of heavy or long-term wormwood use is unknown.

 

Risk of Death #

Thujone is a convulsant agent. Poisoning events involving wormwood are rare, but this may in part be due to the rareness of its use. Weisbord et al. (1997) report a case of nearly-fatal acute renal failure following the ingestion of 10 ml wormwood oil ordered over the internet. Erowid has received one report of a person who was hospitalized following ingestion of an entire bottle of wormwood essence. The amount of thujone consumed is not known in either case. Given the small number of reports of wormwood use, two known hospitalizations warrants extreme caution.

 

 

^^^^ http://www.erowid.org/plants/wormwood/wormwood_basics.shtml

[Budman2012]

Excellent Jazzone

Thankyou very much for that , great info and great post

I'm going to look into this again when I get time so I'll be sure to visit all those links myself ... Thanks again.

 

 

Budman

[DarkSpark]

Wormwood was used by kind Mithradates too kill his sister wife in ancient roman times, not that its of any use too you all. Sends you into a euphoric type feeling, followed by fits that ultimately end up making you spasm until you break your own bones etc... lovely *cough*

 

and don't quote me on this but doesn't it also offer heightened senses of feeling, everything seems so much clearer etc.

[BaronS]

just sortta FYI.

 

I dropped into BWS on the way home tonight, the bourbon cupboard was bare and that's an almost intolerable situation.

 

Had a look around, and they had Czech Absinth on the shelf, Green somethingorother. $66 for a not large bottle. The label on the back _almost_ states 'this is shit, full of alchohol'.

 

Still, think I might give it a taste, maybe next time I pass the shop. I've consumed most recreational substances, to varying degrees, over the years. Never before looked for Absinth because I was also one of the dillusional few who thought it was outlawed in AU.

 

I remember an episode of 'Highlander' where Duncan visits a boutique liquory (sp?) and the owner reluctantly admits to have some available. If there can be only one it may as well be me :-)