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Absinthe--active constituents, brain activity?

Posted by Ame Sans Vie on July 18, 2003, at 9:33:10

Absinthe is something I enjoy from time to time (home brewed), and I may as well just start off by saying that I don't believe in the whole "absinthism" scare of the early 20th century. I believe the symptoms of that disease were caused by excessive consumption of high proof (150 proof) alcohol first and foremost, and the active herbal ingredients may have played a secondary part of in it, though only due to the very high quantities ingested by absintheurs in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Now, to get on with my post...

The absinthe I brew at home is made using 80-proof vodka, hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), calamus (Acorus calamus), anise seed (Pimpinella anisum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), star anise (Illicuim verum), licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), and of course, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium).

I am well aware that thujone, the purported psychoactive constituent in wormwood, is believed to be largely responsible for absinthe's intoxicating effects (disregarding the ethanol, of course). However, several of the other herbs contain chemicals which may be psychoactive--the asarones in calamus, anethole in anise seed and fennel, and though I can't find the specific chemicals involved, both lemon balm and hyssop have long been used as calmatives and nervines.

So my question is this--does anyone here have any clue as to how absinthe's active ingredients exert their effects (in a strictly neurotransmission manner of speaking) on the brain? I know thujone is said to be related to delta-9-THC, but I also know that a chemical similarity means practically nothing as far as its true action is concerned.

Thanks for any input!


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poster:Ame Sans Vie thread:243127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030718/msgs/243127.html