Thujone is a monoterpene and ketone found in a variety of plants – wormwood (especially the wormwood plant Artemisia Absinthium or common wormwood), tansy, sage, some types of juniper, mugwort, nootka cypress and arborvitae (an evergreen cypress).
The chemical substance thujone is recognized to act on the GABA receptors on the brain and, when absorbed in large amounts, is alleged to have a psycho active effect triggering convulsions and also muscle spasms. Thujone is usually toxic and it is believed to damage the cells of both the liver and also brain absinthe history.
It was alleged several years ago that thujone looked like THC in cannabis causing psychedelic effects but this claim has now been discovered to be false.
Thujone is renowned for being one of the reasons that Absinthe was banned in numerous countries all over the world and lots of countries have laws concerning the quantity of thujone in food and drinks.
EU (European Union) rules concerning thujone are:-
– up to 0.5mg/kg of thujone is authorized in food, not containing sage, and non-alcoholic beverages.
– up to 5mg/kg is allowed in alcohol-based drinks with an ABV, alcohol by volume, of 25% or less.
– up to 10mg/kg of thujone is permitted in alcoholic drinks with an ABV more than 25%.
– up to 25mg/kg is allowed in food made up of sage.
– up to 35mg/kg is allowed in alcohol based drinks should they have the label “bitters”.
The USA has until recently prohibited any food or drink that contains any plants of the Artemisia family but additional herbs, just like sage, that contain the chemical substance thujone have been authorized. In 2007, Ted Breaux, an Absinthe distiller, was able to prove to the US authorities that Absinthe covered only tiny quantities of thujone and so his brand “Lucid” has become legal to buy and sell within the USA.
Thujone and also the Absinthe Ban
Absinthe, which contains thujone, has a very interesting history. Absinthes are categorised as spirits not liqueurs and are about twice the strength of other spirits just like whisky and vodka. The Green Fairy, the nickname for Absinthe, is a green liquor made usually from a wine base with a selection of herbs, particularly grand wormwood, aniseed and fennel. It has an anise taste and it’s served by diluting with water.
Absinthe was a popular drink during the 1800s specifically in Bohemian Paris. Absinthe bars were popular and the drink was enjoyed by many French people at both the start of the day and also the end of the day. Absinthe bars actually had Absinthe hour – “L’heure vert” or “the green hour”.
Absinthe enthusiasts include many well-known historical figures like the artists and writers Van Gogh, Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Degas, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Ernest Hemingway and also Oscar Wilde. These artists and writers claimed that drinking Absinthe gave them inspiration and their genius. Oscar Wilde said:
“After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Many Absinthe drinkers believed that getting drunk on Absinthe gave them an odd “clear headed ” drunkenness. This is considered to be caused by the sedative results of the alcohol and some herbal ingredients combined with the stimulating outcomes of other herbs.
The prohibition movement charged Absinthe for driving people insane, for it causing hallucinations, convulsions and making people aggressive. The work of Dr Valentin Magnan towards alcoholism as well as the results of wormwood oil on animals added in fuel to the prohibition campaign when Magnan reported that wormwood oil caused epileptic fits. He said that Absinthe was much more dangerous kinds of alcohol. Absinthe was believed to contain considerable amounts of toxic thujone and so was banned in lots of countries in the early 1900s .
Thujone Nowadays
Until recent times, it was considered that the Absinthe of the 19th century contained approximately 350mg per liter of thujone but studies on recreated recipes of that time have indicated that it quite possibly only contained 4.3mg per liter. Tests were carried out on a vintage bottle of 1900s Absinthe and that bottle only included 6mg of thujone per liter.
The claims of Dr Magnan appear to have been disproved and it has been learned that a person drinking Absinthe would die firstly of alcohol poisoning well before suffering any effects of thujone, so little will be the quantities of thujone extra resources.
It is flawlessly safe to drink Absinthe moderately and if you’d like real Absinthe you have to look for Absinthe containing wormwood, or thujone, as it’s the wormwood which gives Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste. Absinthe essences containing real wormwood, and other traditionally used herbs, are around to purchase online at AbsintheKit.com.