Artemisia absinthium: history, properties, and tradition

Artemisia absinthium is a composite plant widespread in Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. It is found spontaneously in the Mediterranean region up to the subalpine zone, and its flowering occurs between July and September.

In Italy, it thrives in arid and rocky soils, from sea level to 1000 meters altitude, and is absent on the islands.

Artemisia is a perennial herb with a branched rhizome; it has stems that reach heights of about 1 m and are also branched. The upper leaves are smaller and less divided. The stem ends in a large panicle with roundish flower heads about 2-4 mm in diameter; the flowers are yellow and all tubular, the inner ones hermaphrodite and the peripheral ones female. The receptacle is rich in hairs. Its fruits, achenes, are small, gray, and without pappus.

The entire plant is covered with dense hairs, up to 1 mm long, which give the plant itself a silvery-silky color.

The drug consists of the leaves and flowering tops that express their balsamic aroma at full maturity. The drug contains essential oil (tujone, azulene, fellandrene, and pinene), sesquiterpene lactones, bitter glycoside absinthin, resin, and organic acids.

The extract must have a title not lower than 2 mg/kg of essence obtained by steam distillation, and must have a bittering power not less than 250 units.

Artemisia stimulates chloropeptic secretion; it is emmenagogue, vermifuge, and febrifuge. It is therefore recommended for digestive problems, lack of appetite, menstrual insufficiency, fever, roundworms, and pinworms. It is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The most famous product of Artemisia absinthium is the liqueur obtained from it, called Absinthe, which thanks to its bitter taste has become the archetype of bitterness.

In reality, both the liqueur and the essential oil are stimulants and tonics in small doses, but in larger doses, they can be toxic due to the presence of tujone, which is responsible for epileptogenic action and active on nerve centers.

In fact, prolonged use of absinthe liqueur could cause chronic absinthism, a condition in which dizziness, nausea, muscle tremors starting from the neck and then spreading throughout the body up to real convulsions, accompanied by a state of drunkenness, are felt; and then, by abusing it for a long time, paralysis, disturbances of mental faculties, hallucinations, and maniacal delirium may occur.

The absinthe drink is a distillation obtained in 60-70° alcohol, of different qualities of Artemisia (A. absinthium, A. pontica), Wormwood or Star Anise (Illicium verum), Bitter Calamus (Acorus calamus), Angelica (Angelica archangelica), Cumin seeds (Cuminum cyminum), Common Oregano (Origanum vulgare), Cretan Dittany (Origanum dictamnus), and often also Mint (various species), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), and Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and with the final addition of Common Anise (Pimpinella anisum).

Absinthe liqueur is green in color, clouds and becomes milky when water is added, which is why it is called the Green Fairy.

Its history is linked to the bohemian period and is also present in the works of many painters of the time: Manet in “The Absinthe Drinker“, Degas in “L’Absinthe“, Lautrec who portrayed colleague van Gogh, a great consumer of the liqueur.

Curiosity: In the sacred rites of ancient Romans, this plant was considered very important, so much so that during the Feriae Latinae (festivities held in spring), the winner of the races held among the chariots on the Capitoline Hill received absinthe as a beverage (extracted from the plant) as an honorary symbol of health.

But it was also considered a symbol of misfortunes: Jeremiah prophesies the punishment that the Lord will impose on the people of Israel, guilty of abandoning the law, stating: “Behold, I will make them eat wormwood and drink poisoned waters, because from the prophets of Jerusalem godlessness has spread throughout the land“.

The genus Artemisia includes many other species; the most used are A. abrotarum, A. vulgaris (used to produce Vermouth liqueur), A. pontica, A. vallesiaca, A. coerulescens, A. verlotiorum, A. annua (important antimalarial action), A. dracunculus or Tarragon, and A. glacialis called Genepì.

ANJA LATINI

Registered Herbalist RNEP no. GLT0018S