Wormwood Oil
(Artemisia absinthium)
GENERAL DISCRIPTION A perennial herb up to 1,5 metres high with a whitish stem, silvery-green, divided leaves covered in silky fine hairs, and pale yellow flowers.
DISTRIBUTION Native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia; naturalized in North America.
HERBAL / FOLK TRADITION Used as an aromatic-bitter for anorexia, as a digestive tonic and as a choleretic for liver and gall bladder disorders, usually in the form of a dilute extract.
It is also used to promote menstruation, reduce fever and expel worms. It was once used as a remedy for epilepsy and as an aromatic strewing herb to banish fleas.
ACTIONS Anthelmintic, choleretic, deodorant, emmenagogue, febrifuge, insect repellent, narcotic, stimulant (digestive), tonic, vermifuge.
EXTRACTION Essential oil by steam distillation from the leaves and flowering tops.
CHARACTERISTICS A dark green or bluish oil with a spicy, warm, bitter-green odour and a sharp, fresh topnote. The ‘de-thujonized’ oil blends well with oakmoss, jasmine, orange blossom, lavender and hyacinth.
AROMATHERAPY / HOME USE None.
‘Should not be used in therapy either internally or externally.’
OTHER USES Occasionally used in rubefacient pharmaceutical preparations and as a fragrance component in toiletries, cosmetics and perfumes. Widely employed (at minute levels) as a flavouring agent in alcoholic bitters and vermouths; also to a lesser extent in soft drinks and some foods, especially confectionery and desserts.
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