This persistent, greyish-green, herbaceous plant from the daisy family grows between 40 and 150 cm tall. The leaf stems are covered with fine hairs. In the period from June to September, spherical, yellow flower heads develop from branched blooms and it is from these clusters that the grey-brown, egg-shaped fruits form. This widespread herb grows throughout Europe, Asia, North Africa as well as in North and South America.

Usage

Wormwood was used as a medicinal herb and for various rituals by the Egyptians in early human history. Ancient Egyptian illustrations show Isis priestesses presenting branches of Artemisia, which got its name from the ancient Greeks, who named the herb after Artemis, the goddess of hunting and fertility. As an earth mother, Artemis was also responsible for animals and nature. Wormwood was used by the Greeks as an cure-all remedy and aphrodisiac - they already knew the appetizing and digestive properties as well as the creativity-enhancing properties of the herb.
In folk medicine, wormwood was used against worm diseases, as a tonic for exhaustion and depression, against anaemia, colds, menstrual cramps and for abortion. The herb was used externally for such treatments as those used against rashes, insect bites and poorly healing wounds. A large number of preparations were utilized: the wormwood was brewed as a tea, medicinal wines and beers were made from it and tinctures were made by alcohol extraction. Baths, oils, ointments and scented pillows have also been made from wormwood.
Wormwood was also used as incense to protect against evil spirits and other mischief as well as to open up the spiritual dimensions.

Artemisia Absinthium gained particular fame through the 18th century as the main component of the legendary cult drink Absinthe, in which the psychoactive effect of the thujone contained in the wormwood plays a major role. To this end, the wormwood is distilled together with other herbs (including fennel, lemon balm, peppermint, hyssop, anise, angelica root, coriander, licorice) producing a generally high-proof and highly potent herbal extract. The artists of the French bohemian scene in particular had quickly discovered the awareness-enhancing qualities of this drink containing thujone. Manet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Beaudelaire (to name just a few); they all enjoyed the intoxicating, euphoric effect of the wormwood infused “Green Fairy”. At the beginning of the 20th century, absinthe was banned in almost all countries and could only be produced in secret. Since 1991, the production and sale of absinthe with a regulated thujone content of up to 35 mg / kg has been permitted again in Germany and most EU countries; Today you can find a wide range of absinthes from different regions and traditions on the market.

Wormwood on the mountain slope

Ingredients

Wormwood contains many bitter substances (especially absinthin) and an essential oil that is rich in thujone (thujone has a molecular structure similar to THC). The herb also contains coumarins, tannins, flavonoids, caffeic acid derivatives and phenol carboxylic acids.

Effect

Among the diverse medical effects, the stomach-calming and digestive properties of the extremely bitter wormwood tea are particularly noteworthy. Furthermore, the tea is a considered to be an astringent, antioxidant, appetite-increasing, anti-inflammatory, euphoric, diuretic, antispasmodic, menstruation-promoting and toning. Thujone, which is mainly effective in alcoholic extracts, has intoxicating, stimulating, aphrodisiac and dream-enhancing properties.

Artemisia absinthium - Illustration 

Side effects

During the middle of the 19th century, the absinthe containing wormwood gained an increasingly bad reputation attributed to the consequences of excessive absinthe abuse or ‘absinthism’. These would often include depression, personality disorders, liver and brain damage. According to the current state of research, these side effects were not directly caused by the thujone but rather by the frequent consumption of the high-proof alcohol, which was also often of extremely poor quality. Even if the thujone levels in the earlier as well as in the currently available absinthe is too low for a toxic effect, thujone can act as a neurotoxin in very high doses, as could be found when consuming large amounts of pure wormwood oil. The amount of thujone in the absinthe is therefore not harmful - since absinthe often has a very high alcohol content, it should be enjoyed with the necessary caution and responsibility.