Wormwood is a family of herbaceous perennials & annuals of the Artemisia genus, which also includes the Mugworts. They are primarily grown for their absinthin and thujone content.

Two of the most well-known cultivars are A. absinthium (Common Wormwood, used for the commercial production of absinthe) and A. herba-alba (White Wormwood, or Biblical Wormwood). Many wormwood & mugwort cultivars are prized across the world for their medicinal properties.

Some of the most bitter cultivars (in particular A. absinthium) are used in the production of alcohol - particularly absinthe. However, it can be added at many stages of a distillation or infusion process.

In traditional folk medicine, wormwood and mugwort are both brewed as part of a tea. As most cultivars are very bitter, many prefer to use other herbs such as mint to mask the flavor. The oils are also sometimes used to make anti-inflammatory salves & poultices for topical use on the skin.

Wormwood can be dried and smoked as well. Again, as many cultivars are bitter, most prefer to mix it with other herbs as part of a smoking blend, rather than smoked straight. It pairs extremely well with a wooden or corn-cob tobacco pipe!

Different cultivars will have varying medicinal effects, depending on their chemical composition. (See Below: Terpenes & Other Compounds)

Wormwood & mugwort have been prized by medical practitioners & folk witches for millenia. Anecdotal evidence suggests these plants have anti-inflammatory, antifungal, neuroprotective, insecticidal, antimicrobial and antidepressant properties. Recreationally they are known for their mild hallucinogenic, mood-altering and dream-enhancing effects. They have also historically been used to treat ulcers, muenstral cramps, malaria & parasitic infestations, and more recently conditions such as diabetes and Crohn's.

Modern science has isolated many of these qualities to multiple chemical compounds, which occur in wildly-varying amounts across wormwood & mugwort cultivars:

Absinthin (also spelled absinthiin or absynthine) is a triterpene lactone that occurs primarily in A. absinthium, and to a far lesser extent in A. pontica. It is absent entirely from other Artemisia cultivars.

Absinthin is extremely bitter, and it is why wormwood is used as a culinary bittering agent, most notably in the alcoholic drinks Absinthe and Vermouth. It exhibits strong anti-inflammatory properties, and seems to potentiate the medicinal properties of the other compounds in wormwood as well.

Artemisia Ketone is an irregular monoterpene ketone that acts on the GABA_A receptor. It is thought to be partially responsible for the dream-enhancing effects of some of the mugworts. It occurs only in A. vulgaris and A. princeps, and can also be found in Great Basin Sagebrush.

Artemisinin is a sesquiterpene lactone that only occurs in A. annua (or Sweet Wormwood). It is primarily used for the treatment of malaria, and holds antiparasitic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory & immunomodulatory properties as well. For centuries, the Chinese have brewed A. annua as a tea for its medical properties.

Nobilin is a sesquiterpene lactone found in A. herba-alba (or white wormwood). It is thought to be responsible for a good chunk of white wormwood's healing properties, as Middle Eastern & Maghrebi cultures have used it as a medicinal tea called for centuries. It is known especially as an herbal remedy for diabetes, but exhibits anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antimicrobial properties as well.

Piperitone is a monoterpene ketone found primarily in A. abrotanum, and to a lesser extent A. pontica. It is a mild CNS stimulant with anti-inflammatory properties.

Scopoletin and Scoparone are a pair of compounds with noted anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties. They are also mild sedatives and antidepressants (MAO-A inhibition). They occur in highest concentrations in A. abrotanum, A. scoparia, A. capillaris and A. umbelliformis.

Sesamin and Asarinin are natural SSRI's and MAO-B blockers found in the Asian mugworts (A. princeps and A. argyi). Unlike pharmaceutical SSRI's, they appear to be less addictive and toxic. They are two of the compounds responsible for the dream-like and mild euphoric effects of the Asian mugworts.

Thujone is a monoterpene compound that occurs primarily as one of two stereoisomers: α-thujone and β-thujone. It is a GABA_A receptor antagonist, and is known to act on the 5-HT3 and α7 nicotinic receptors as well. While it occurs throughout most of the Artemisia genus (and even in other plants such as common sage), it occurs in especially high concentrations in A. herba-alba and A. absinthium. It can be found in lighter concentrations in A. vulgaris and A. pontica, and not-insignificant amounts can be found in A. argyi and A. princeps as well.

It has long-thought to be the primary compound responsible for Wormwood's mild hallucinogenic properties. Like many psychoactive compounds, thujone has not seen much study in 21st century western medicine. Given thujone's ability to potentiate other drugs, it is likely acting in concert with various other compounds that occur within Wormwood cultivars.

Other than its psychoactive uses, thujone has no medicinal value. Most “medicinal” wormwood plants are cultivars with no thujone, such as A. annua or A. abrotanum. Other cultivars prized by traditional Asian medicine (such A. argyi & A. princeps) also have comparatively low amounts of thujone. This is because thujone is toxic in large amounts, where it acts as a lethal convulsant. While it's LD50 in humans is unknown, it hovers around 45 mg/kg in mice. A quick survey of wormwood & thujone overdoses returns tales of people consuming mammoth amounts of absinthe or concentrated essential oil from the wormwood plant. It can be safely smoked or consumed in moderation.

Some A. absinthium & A. herba-alba cultivars also contain (Z)-epoxyocimene, which is a direct biosynthetic precursor AND amplifier of β-thujone. Balkan-sourced A. absinthium seems to have the most.

• Absinthe Vault on Erowid
• Mugwort Vault on Erowid
• Wormwood Vault on Erowid
• The Wormwood Society - Nonprofit absinthe advocacy group