J Appl Biomed 1:199-205, 2003 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2003.036

Pharmacology and toxicology of absinthe

Jiří Patočka^a,*, Bohumil Plucar^b

^a Department of Toxicology, Military Medical Academy, Hradec Králové and Faculty of Health and Social Studies, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

^b Lundbeck CRS, s.r.o. Praha. Czech Republic

Absinthe is a flavoured distilled liquor, emerald green in colour, turning to cloudy, opalescent white when mixed with water. It has inspired many prominent artists, writers and poets - Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway just to name a few. Absinthe was first produced commercially in 1797 by Henry-Louis Pernod, who purchased the formula from a French exile living in Switzerland. The wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, is the chief flavouring ingredient of absinthe and the presence of monoterpene thujone in this drug was the reason for the prohibition of the production and sale of absinthe in many countries. Thujone is a toxic chemical present in wormwood and is responsible for the pharmacological and toxicological properties of absinthe.

Keywords: absinthe; thujone; composition; metabolites; detoxification

Received: May 13, 2003; Revised: September 2, 2003; Published: July 31, 2003  Show citation