Wormwood

Effects and Benefits

Core Identification

Common Names:
- Wormwood
- Absinthe wormwood
- Common wormwood
- Green ginger
- Crown for a king
- Grande absinthe (French)
- Wermutkraut (German)

Latin Name: Artemisia absinthium

Category: Herb

Uses

Traditional Uses

• Digestive bitter tonic - Used since ancient Greek and Roman times to stimulate appetite and improve digestion
• Vermifuge (antiparasitic) - Traditional remedy for eliminating intestinal roundworms, pinworms, and tapeworms across European, Middle Eastern, and North American folk medicine
• Febrifuge - Used in Eastern Europe as a malaria remedy and general fever reducer
• Liver and gallbladder tonic - Employed throughout Europe for liver insufficiency and bile stimulation
• Emmenagogue - Traditional women's medicine to stimulate menstruation
• External antiseptic - Applied as poultices for bruises, bites, sprains, and fungal infections (including athlete's foot)

Modern Uses

• Digestive Support - Stimulates appetite, relieves indigestion, gastric pain, heartburn, and flatulence | Research quality: Moderate
• Key findings: German Commission E approved for loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints; bitter principles absinthin and anabsinthin demonstrated to stimulate digestive secretions

• Source citations: German Commission E Monographs; Western Materia Medica II (Wild Rose College)

• Antiparasitic Activity - Used to expel intestinal worms and parasites | Research quality: Moderate

• Key findings: Traditional use validated; typically combined with other antiparasitic herbs in modern practice; the common name "wormwood" directly references this use

• Source citations: The Herb Book (Lust); The Modern Herbal Dispensatory (Easley)

• Liver Protection - May provide hepatoprotective effects | Research quality: Preliminary

• Key findings: Research at Aga Khan University found aqueous-methanolic extract appears to protect against acetaminophen-induced liver damage by preventing breakdown into reactive metabolites

• Source citations: Encyclopedia of Herbs (DeBaggio)

• Digestive Bitter for IBS - Combined with caraway and peppermint for irritable bowel syndrome | Research quality: Preliminary

• Key findings: Modern herbal practice rarely uses wormwood alone; typically combined with carminative herbs for heartburn and functional digestive complaints

• Source citations: Western Materia Medica II (Wild Rose College)

• Topical Antifungal - Used in preparations for athlete's foot and skin fungal infections | Research quality: Preliminary

• Key findings: The Anglo-Saxon term "worm" also referred to fungal infections like ringworm; wormwood still included in some topical antifungal preparations
• Source citations: Encyclopedia of Herbs (DeBaggio)

Active Compounds

Primary Active Ingredients:
- Thujone (alpha and beta forms) - Volatile oil component responsible for both therapeutic effects and potential toxicity; blocks GABA channels; CNS active
- Absinthin - Dimeric guaianolide; primary bitter principle; stimulates digestive secretions
- Anabsinthin - Sesquiterpene lactone formed from absinthin; contributes to bitter taste
- Artabasin - Additional bitter lactone compound
- Essential oils - Highly variable chemotypes including sabinyl acetate, epoxy-ocimene, chrysanthenyl acetate, and caryophyllene oxide
- Flavonoids - Including rutin and quercetin
- Tannins (4-7.7%) - Contribute to astringent properties

Dosage Information

Standard Dosage:
- Form: Infusion (tea)
- Amount: 1-3 grams dried herb daily; ½ teaspoon dried herb per cup of boiling water
- Frequency: ½ cup before meals, taken a teaspoonful at a time
- Note: Aqueous extracts (tea) contain minimal thujone, making this the safest form

Therapeutic Dosage:
- Form: Tincture
- Amount: Dried herb (1:5, 70% alcohol); 5 drops to 2 ml as needed
- Purpose: Digestive support, bitter tonic
- Duration: Maximum 2-4 weeks continuous use

Maximum Safe Dosage:
- Daily maximum: 3 grams dried herb in aqueous infusion
- Warning threshold: Do not exceed 4-5 weeks of continuous use; avoid essential oil internally

Bioavailability Notes:
- Thujone is poorly soluble in water, making aqueous preparations (tea) safer than alcohol extracts
- Tinctures and essential oils concentrate thujone and carry higher toxicity risk
- The bitter principles require taste contact for optimal digestive stimulation

How to Take It

Timing:
- Best taken 20-30 minutes before meals to stimulate appetite and digestive secretions
- Empty stomach preferred for digestive bitter effects
- For parasites: Follow practitioner guidance on specific protocols

Synergies - What It Works Well With

Complementary Supplements:
1. Peppermint - Carminative action complements wormwood's bitter properties | Reduces intestinal cramping while wormwood stimulates digestion; improves palatability
2. Caraway - Traditional combination for digestive complaints | Combined for heartburn and IBS in German phytotherapy
3. Black Walnut Hull - Antiparasitic combination | Traditional parasite cleanse formulas often combine these two vermifuges
4. Gentian - Fellow bitter herb | Combined in digestive bitter formulas for comprehensive digestive support
5. Clove - Antiparasitic synergy | Traditional combination in parasite protocols; clove addresses different life stages of parasites

Avoidance - What NOT to Combine With

Supplement Interactions:
1. Other thujone-containing herbs (Thuja, Sage, Tansy) - Cumulative thujone exposure increases toxicity risk

Drug Interactions:
1. Anticonvulsant medications (phenobarbital, valproic acid, etc.) - Thujone lowers seizure threshold; may interfere with seizure control | Severity: Severe
2. Sedatives and CNS depressants - Wormwood volatile oil has CNS depressant effects; may potentiate sedation | Severity: Moderate
3. Drugs metabolized by liver - Wormwood may affect hepatic metabolism | Severity: Moderate

Food Interactions:
- Alcohol - Avoid excessive alcohol consumption while using wormwood; historical "absinthism" involved both thujone and alcohol toxicity

Safety Information

Contraindications:
- Pregnancy (abortifacient; stimulates uterine contractions)
- Breastfeeding
- Epilepsy or seizure disorders (thujone lowers seizure threshold)
- Porphyria (alpha-thujone may increase porphyrin production)
- Children
- Gastric or intestinal ulcers
- Hyperacidity conditions (frequent heartburn)

Side Effects:
- Common: Nausea, vomiting (especially at higher doses)
- Less common: Headache, dizziness, restlessness, insomnia
- Rare/severe: Tremors, vertigo, seizures (with excessive or prolonged use)

Long-Term Use:
- NOT recommended for continuous use beyond 2-4 weeks
- Historical "absinthism" from chronic use included: mental disturbances, seizures, hallucinations, tremors, impaired sexual function
- Modern research suggests many absinthism symptoms may have been due to alcohol and adulterants (copper sulfate) rather than thujone alone
- Cycle recommendation: Use for maximum 4 weeks, then take at least 2-week break

Special Precautions:
- Discontinue at least 2 weeks before surgery
- Essential oil should NEVER be taken internally
- Use only under professional guidance for parasite protocols
- Persons with weakened constitutions should use with extra caution or avoid

Primary Uses At-a-Glance

Primary: Digestive bitter tonic, appetite stimulant, antiparasitic (vermifuge), liver and gallbladder support

Secondary: Fever reduction, topical antifungal, menstrual stimulant

Sources

Local Library:
- DeBaggio, Thomas - The Encyclopedia of Herbs
- Wild Rose College of Herbal Medicine - Western Materia Medica II
- Lust, John - The Herb Book
- Easley, Thomas - The Modern Herbal Dispensatory
- Wood, Matthew - The Earthwise Herbal Volume 1
- Hobbs, Christopher - Grow It, Heal It
- Breverton, Terry - Breverton's Complete Herbal
- Orr, Stephen - The New American Herbal
- Duke, James A. - Handbook of Medicinal Herbs

General Knowledge:
- German Commission E Monographs
- Traditional Western Herbal Medicine
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (related Artemisia species)
- Ayurvedic Medicine (related species A. maritima, A. vulgaris)