Absinthe

ABSINTHE, a strong wormwood liqueur widely distributed in France, where it is usually drunk diluted with water. According to J. König, absinthe has the following composition: alcohol - 55.9%, wormwood extract - 0.32%, other extractive substances - 0.18%; specific gravity of absinthe - 0.9226. In 100 cubic centimeters of absinthe, the acidity (calculated as acetic acid) is 9.5 milligrams, aldehydes - 7.2 milligrams, esters - 6.1 milligrams. The herb wormwood (Absinthium officinale or Artemisia absinthium), which is very common in our country and is used to prepare absinthe, contains among its constituents the bitter substance absinthin and a dark green essential wormwood oil; it is the latter that determines the specific character of the action of absinthe compared to other alcoholic beverages. It was established long ago that wormwood oil is capable of causing convulsions; according to numerous observations, the action of wormwood oil consists of several phases: an initial chaotic, sometimes very strong "excitation" (of the type of paralysis of the higher inhibitory and regulating centers of the cerebral cortex—the analyzers, according to I. P. Pavlov) is replaced by attacks first of tonic, then of clonic convulsions and stertorous coma, without the poisoned individual retaining any memory of what happened; hence the characterization of wormwood convulsions as epileptoid. Absinthism, abuse of absinthe, a form of chronic alcoholism, is characterized by the tendency of patients to epileptic seizures. Prolonged use of absinthe creates a specific type of poisoning and is not so rare; here it may be a matter of functional cumulation, as is generally noted in relation to alcoholism in the characterization of attacks of delirium tremens. At the beginning of absinthe intoxication, many note a deep psychic stupor, which, while motor functions are preserved, creates the greatest danger to others. The medical use of wormwood has now been abandoned; it was proposed as a bitter, anthelmintic, and anti-malarial remedy. From the standpoint of public health, the enormous negative significance of absinthe as an intoxicating agent is explained by the severity of the damage it causes to the central nervous system. In its action, German vermouth is close to absinthe. Absinthe neuritis, an intoxication of the organism developing on the basis of heavy absinthe use, also affects the nervous system, mainly the cranial and spinal nerves; very severe forms of polyneuritis develop (see Polyneuritis and Neuritis).