Traditional Herbal Medicine.

Core ingredient of Absinthe.

Wormwood was thought to be a love charm centuries ago and was used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans both medicinally and in religious rites. The oil acts as a local anaesthetic for rheumatism, neuralgia and arthritis. The indian tribes of North America prepared parts of this plant to treat sore throats and bronchitis. Wormwood is the main active ingredient of the spirit liqueur Absinthe and attained notoriety from its excessive use and abuse. Absinthe was the drug of inspiration for painters like Vincent Van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Gauguin, and the authors Ernest Hemingway, Jack London and Oscar Wilde amongst others. Todays liqueur "Pernod" is a relic of the Absinthe era, but does not contain any wormwood anymore. Absinthe was made by steeping wormwood and other herbs in brandy and then distilling the first half of the total volume. Alcohol distills over first, followed by a small amount of water which carries the essential oils across. This leaves behind the bitter principles of the herbs. The alcohol content of Absinthe is usually about 70%. Absinthe is illegal in many countries, but is widely available on the black market in Switzerland, Hungary and Tschecheslovakia.

Artemisia afra is rich in thujone. The essential oil of absinthe can consist of up to 65% total thujone, of which the majority is the psychoactive alpha-thujone. Thujone was until recently thought to bind to the same receptor site as THC (Cannabis), resulting in similar psychoactive and physiological effects. This has now been shown not to be the case. Alpha-thujone is regarded as toxic. It induces a feeling of weightlessness and euphoria in small doses, but results in a stupor in larger quantities. Excessive consumption of the liqueur Absinthe is said to cause braindamage, but much of this may be attributed to other "additives" used last century. To achieve the exquisite colour of true Absinthe many manufacturers resorted to adding toxic metal-salts to their bottled product, many of which would have caused the damage which has been documented.

Artemisia afra

Botanical Name: Artemisia afra (COMPOSITAE)
Common Names: African Wormwood; Wormwood; Afra
Active Constituents: a-Thujone; b-Thujone; 1,8-Cineole; Bormeol; Camphor

Botanical description: Artemisia afra (Compositae)

Artemisia afra is an errect multi-stemmed perennial shrub of up to two metres in height. It has feathery leaves, finely devided which is usually grayish to green in color. Yellowish and inconspicuous flowers appear on branch ends.

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