"After the first glass, 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, which is the most horrible thing in the world" – Oscar Wilde
Van Gogh, Gauguin, Wilde, Baudelaire, De Musset… At the beginning of
the century, the greatest artists joined workers, clerks and businessmen to indulge in the ritual of absinthe. The liquor’s origin can be traced back to Antiquity, when oil of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) was used as medicine. Eventually, the elixir, mixed with other herbs extract and eau-de-vie found its way as a popular liquor in 19th century Europe, sold as a 85% ethanol mix. Water was slowly dripped in the green alcohol over a cube on a pierced spoon. A white have (a spontaneous emulsion of anisol) would appear, familiar to drinkers of pastis, ouzo and raki, and the absinthe was ready to be savoured. It became a fashion, then a rage and finally a phenomena. It even became a character, both in ads and tour de siècle culture : the Green Fairy. Workers and artists alike were indulging in the ritual every day - too often many times a day. For the firsts the absinthe ritual was their moment of peace, the seconds venerated absinthe as a muse, like 70s’ artists would later see LSD. Absinthe was not without its detractors. It was accused of causing “absinthism” : a mixture of hallucinations, convulsions, depression, insomnia and paralysis. Notably, Magnan, a French physician, isolated thujone as the active ingredient of absinthe, causing convulsions in rats. This was the final hour of absinthe. Political activists and prohibitionists began petitioning for a ban. At the beginning of World War I, absinthe was the cheapest strong liquor a soldier could buy. Frightened by the claims of the prohibitionists and hoping to stop the havoc of alcoholism among the troops virtually every country banned absinthe.
A legend was born : The Green Fairy, offering madness in a bottle.
In recent years however, unlikely shiny-armoured knights rode to rescue the disgraced lady. Biochemists took up the case and investigated thujone again, as absinthe from Eastern Europe was seen more often and distillers were pushing for a lift on the ban. Severe flaws were found in Magnan’s research. As a prohibitionists himself he was severely biased against absinthe and refused to distinguish between the symptoms of “absinthism’ and alcoholism. He also injected rats with quantities of thujone nowhere near the levels found in actual absinthe. Even then, chromatographic analysis on vintage absinthe and freshly prepared beverages showed concentrations of thujone of 25mg/l, far from the 260 mg/l reported in older studies.
Even if thujone was the deadly poison presented by the politicized scientists of the 10s, the levels present in absinthe were thus harmless.
Moreover, this toxicity has been reassessed today. Based on its structure and on its reported stimulating effect on artistic abilities, thujone has been investigated as a possible cannabinnoid, akin to THC. It was showed that it indeed binds to the CB1 and CB2 cannabinnoid receptor with it is only with a low affinity (Ki > 100uM). It does not however - nor does any component of oil of wormwood – affect the coupled G-protein or adenylate cyclase activity in a cannabinnoid-like fashion. Absinthe was then cleared as a psychedelic drug. It has been confirmed in high dosage as a convulsant though, acting as an antagonistic inhibitor of GABAA receptors. Thujone has also been shown to inhibit indirectly the 5-HT3 receptors present in the serotoninergic pathways, acting as an enhancer for natural agonists of the receptor. The effect on GABAA and 5HT3 receptors can explain the stimulating effects reported by absinthe drinkers and the convulsant properties of very high doses of a-thujone. Common alcoholism and the presence of copper and antimony salt as well as methanol on cheap absinthe would rather explain the reported cases of absinthism, although it remains to be demonstrated.
Biochemists of today, thus stood above the example of the biased researchers of the past, too often attached to political causes. The return of the Green Fairy liquor store’s shelves does not sound a new vague of madness, but rather an occasion to savour a legendary and delicious aniseed drink! Cheers.
Van Gogh, Gauguin, Wilde, Baudelaire, De Musset… At the beginning of
the century, the greatest artists joined workers, clerks and businessmen to indulge in the ritual of absinthe. The liquor’s origin can be traced back to Antiquity, when oil of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) was used as medicine. Eventually, the elixir, mixed with other herbs extract and eau-de-vie found its way as a popular liquor in 19th century Europe, sold as a 85% ethanol mix. Water was slowly dripped in the green alcohol over a cube on a pierced spoon. A white have (a spontaneous emulsion of anisol) would appear, familiar to drinkers of pastis, ouzo and raki, and the absinthe was ready to be savoured. It became a fashion, then a rage and finally a phenomena. It even became a character, both in ads and tour de siècle culture : the Green Fairy. Workers and artists alike were indulging in the ritual every day - too often many times a day. For the firsts the absinthe ritual was their moment of peace, the seconds venerated absinthe as a muse, like 70s’ artists would later see LSD. Absinthe was not without its detractors. It was accused of causing “absinthism” : a mixture of hallucinations, convulsions, depression, insomnia and paralysis. Notably, Magnan, a French physician, isolated thujone as the active ingredient of absinthe, causing convulsions in rats. This was the final hour of absinthe. Political activists and prohibitionists began petitioning for a ban. At the beginning of World War I, absinthe was the cheapest strong liquor a soldier could buy. Frightened by the claims of the prohibitionists and hoping to stop the havoc of alcoholism among the troops virtually every country banned absinthe.A legend was born : The Green Fairy, offering madness in a bottle.
In recent years however, unlikely shiny-armoured knights rode to rescue the disgraced lady. Biochemists took up the case and investigated thujone again, as absinthe from Eastern Europe was seen more often and distillers were pushing for a lift on the ban. Severe flaws were found in Magnan’s research. As a prohibitionists himself he was severely biased against absinthe and refused to distinguish between the symptoms of “absinthism’ and alcoholism. He also injected rats with quantities of thujone nowhere near the levels found in actual absinthe. Even then, chromatographic analysis on vintage absinthe and freshly prepared beverages showed concentrations of thujone of 25mg/l, far from the 260 mg/l reported in older studies.
Even if thujone was the deadly poison presented by the politicized scientists of the 10s, the levels present in absinthe were thus harmless.Moreover, this toxicity has been reassessed today. Based on its structure and on its reported stimulating effect on artistic abilities, thujone has been investigated as a possible cannabinnoid, akin to THC. It was showed that it indeed binds to the CB1 and CB2 cannabinnoid receptor with it is only with a low affinity (Ki > 100uM). It does not however - nor does any component of oil of wormwood – affect the coupled G-protein or adenylate cyclase activity in a cannabinnoid-like fashion. Absinthe was then cleared as a psychedelic drug. It has been confirmed in high dosage as a convulsant though, acting as an antagonistic inhibitor of GABAA receptors. Thujone has also been shown to inhibit indirectly the 5-HT3 receptors present in the serotoninergic pathways, acting as an enhancer for natural agonists of the receptor. The effect on GABAA and 5HT3 receptors can explain the stimulating effects reported by absinthe drinkers and the convulsant properties of very high doses of a-thujone. Common alcoholism and the presence of copper and antimony salt as well as methanol on cheap absinthe would rather explain the reported cases of absinthism, although it remains to be demonstrated.
Biochemists of today, thus stood above the example of the biased researchers of the past, too often attached to political causes. The return of the Green Fairy liquor store’s shelves does not sound a new vague of madness, but rather an occasion to savour a legendary and delicious aniseed drink! Cheers.
Further reading :
Lachenmeier D. W. et al., (2009), J. Agric. Food Chem.
Lachenmeier D. W. et al. (2006) Forens. Sci. Int. 158, 1-8
Del Castillo et al. (1975) Nature 253 356-65
Mescheler J. P. et al. (1999) Pharmaco. Bioch. and Behav., 62(3), 473–80
Deiml T. et al. (2004) Neuropharmacology 46, 192–201
Lachenmeier D. W. et al., (2009), J. Agric. Food Chem.
Lachenmeier D. W. et al. (2006) Forens. Sci. Int. 158, 1-8
Del Castillo et al. (1975) Nature 253 356-65
Mescheler J. P. et al. (1999) Pharmaco. Bioch. and Behav., 62(3), 473–80
Deiml T. et al. (2004) Neuropharmacology 46, 192–201
