Absinthe uncorked: The 'Green Fairy' was boozy -- but not p...(the from the preban era has been attempt...)

The analysis included thujone, widely regarded as the active ingredient in absinthe. It is certainly at the root of absinthes reputation as being more drug than drink, according to Lachenmeier. Thujone was blamed for absinthe madness and absinthism, a collection of symptoms including hallucinations, facial contractions, numbness, and dementia.

However, the study found relatively small concentrations of thujone, amounts less than previously estimated and not sufficient to explain absinthism. Thujone levels in preban absinthe actually were about the same as those in modern absinthe, produced since 1988, when the European Union (EU) lifted its ban on absinthe production. Laboratory tests found no other compound that could explain absinthes effects. All things considered, nothing besides ethanol was found in the absinthes that was able to explain the syndrome of absinthism, according to Lachenmeier.

He says that scientific data cannot explain preban absinthes reputation as a psychedelic substance. Recent historical research on absinthism concluded that the condition probably was alcoholism, Lachenmeier indicates.

Today it seems a substantial minority of consumers want these myths to be true, even if there is no empirical evidence that they are, says Lachenmeier. It is hoped that this paper will go some way to refute at least the first of these myths, conclusively demonstrating that the thujone content of a representative selection of preban absinthe... fell within the modern EU limit.

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